


I Turn at Last to Paths that Lead Home

by whispered_story



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Dragon Jensen, First Time, Friends to Lovers, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Magic, Mates, Quests, Royalty, Supernatural and J2 Big Bang Challenge 2015, Wizard Jared
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-08
Updated: 2015-09-08
Packaged: 2018-04-19 19:43:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 38,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4758584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whispered_story/pseuds/whispered_story
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fourteen years ago, magic was banned from the Padalecki kingdom, and all dragons and other magical creatures left the country. When a precious gem is stolen and Jared sets out on a journey to retrieve it, he is reunited with a long lost friend – and slowly finds out just how much the ban on magic has hurt the land and people living there. With Jensen and their friends at Jared's side, he begins to hope he can fix what his father broke, and bring magic, and Jensen, back to the kingdom for good.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Gorgeous [art](http://fridayblues.livejournal.com/41276.html) by [fridayblues](http://fridayblues.livejournal.com).
> 
> Title taken from Billy Boyd's "Last Goodybe".

Jared wakes with the first beams of light falling through the barely-there gap between the curtains.

He yawns, stretches, and then sinks back into the pillows. For just a few moments, he simply lies still, enjoying the warmth of his bed while his sleep-fuzzy mind clings to the dream he had. Soon, one of his chamber maids will come to wake him, and his day will begin: his clothes will be laid out for him, his bath drawn, his breakfast prepared. Every single thing will have been taken care of for him.

It's the same thing every day. The food that's prepared for him may vary, the faces he sees in the meetings his father makes him sit through may differ, but even those things tend to blur together after a while. Jared stopped paying attention to those details. His whole life has been built on routine. Stable. Dependable. Dull.

For a split second, Jared feels a pang of something. Regret, maybe, or just a longing for something else. But then he thinks of the stories he hears when his father holds court: the peasants who can barely make ends meet because of bad crops, the farms that have been destroyed by storms, the diseases that spread through whole villages. Life outside the city isn't easy, and Jared knows he's blessed. His life isn't perfect, but there are people who have it a lot worse.

He takes a deep breath, exhales slowly. He really can't complain. 

Sighing, he rolls out of bed. In nothing but his sleepwear, he pads over to the window and pulls the curtains aside. The sky is still a bit murky, the sun rising over the far horizon.

Jared opens the window, letting the noises from the courtyard below filter in. There aren't many people out there at this hour, and the sounds float up to him muffled and distant. He remembers a time when the city was busier, when, even this early, the courtyard was filled with people and there was always something happening. Now, things are quieter, calmer. 

Jared doesn't mind the calm, not really, but sometimes he misses the old days. Misses the hustle and bustle of a noisy city, so full of life and excitement at all times. On some days, if the wind was blowing right, he'd been able to hear the sound of the city folk in his chambers so clearly, it felt like he was out there, among them. The swirling mix of laughter and yelling and chattering, the way he'd _felt_ the excitement. He was only been a child back then, but he remembers how big and amazing the city outside their castle walls had seemed, how awed he'd been by the sheer force of life that seemed to suffuse everything. He'd imagined, in his childlike naivety, that the whole kingdom was like that: lively and happy and wondrous.

Jared leans his elbows onto the window sill, eyes fixed on the horizon. There's a misty fog swirling in the distance, beyond the city walls, glowing ominously when the sunbeams light it up. If he squints right, he can imagine that there are shapes in it. Big, strong bodies with large wings spread out at the sides, swooping and twirling in the early morning skies.

Jared huffs and drops the curtain, watching as it falls into place and takes away his view. The pang is back now, stronger than before, making him remember, for a split second, everything he has lost. Everything he misses. He thinks about warm, smooth scales under his palm, a snout teasingly nudging him while lazing around in the sun – It's what we do, Jared. The sun feels so amazing on our scales. – and the big, protective shadow of a dragon following while he ran through meadows in summer.

Jared shakes his head at himself and turns his back to the windows. No dragon has taken to the skies over the Padalecki kingdom in almost fourteen years.

+

Jared raises his sword, blocking off Matt's attack, and grins at him when their weapons clash with a metallic bang.

"Oh, don't get too cocky, Padalecki," Matt replies, with the cool, composed smile that seems to be permanently etched onto his face. He forces Jared's sword down, and Jared quickly steps out of his reach. 

"I'm not cocky, I just know I'm good," Jared quips, and then smirks. "And it's still Prince Jared to you. Your Majesty works, too."

Matt shifts his position and raises his sword. "I believe respect is something you have to earn, Padalecki," he teases.

Jared is momentarily distracted when he hears the soft sound of his sister's muffled laughter to his right. He glances at her, eyes narrowing, but Megan just gives him a small wave and an innocent smile. Jared knows her well enough to know there's nothing innocent about his sister. He rolls his eyes at her and gets back into position, grimacing when he feels the fabric of his tunic move against his skin. They haven't been practicing for long yet, but it's been incredibly hot the last few days, the air thick with heat, and Jared can feel how damp his clothes are.

"I'll show you respect," he mutters, and gives Matt a challenging look. 

Thirty minutes later, Jared's tunic is soaked through, clinging to his body. Both he and Matt are panting, smiling at each other, and Megan is clapping politely.

"Your footwork was sloppy," she notes dryly, coming closer. Jared huffs, and from the corner of his eye he sees Matt ducking his face, hiding his laughter.

"Oh, and I guess you could do better?" he shoots back. Megan shrugs.

"If I was allowed to fight, yeah." Her words are laced with bitterness, and Jared falls into step with her, nudging her softly.

"He's just being protective," he reminds her, and Megan rolls her eyes.

"Because I'm a _girl_."

"Because you're young," Jared corrects. 

"You were training with weapons when you were my age."

Jared sighs. "Yeah, well, you're the baby, Meg. Father looks at you and still sees a little girl," he tries to explain. "I know because _I_ do as well. It's not fair, I know that, but it's hard to get around the fact that you're not a child anymore."

Megan sighs, but her expression softens a little. 

"Plus," Jared adds. "You might not be allowed to train, but you watch my sessions often enough that you probably know as much as I do about it. _And_ you've secretly been practicing, haven't you?"

Megan's step falters a little before she composes herself, her head held high. "How do you know about that?"

Jared shoots her a small grin. "People tell me stuff. And nobody is going to let you pick up a sword without at least asking me about it first. Especially not when it's Genevieve you're asking for help. If you want to keep secrets, don't go to my best friend, Meg."

Megan deflates. "Father..."

"Doesn't know. And I won't tell him," Jared promises her, wrapping his hand around her wrist for a moment, squeezing softly. "Just be careful and don't get Gen into any trouble."

"We're being careful."

"Good," Jared says and gives Megan a small smile. "Now, I'm going to go change. I probably reek."

"You do," Megan agrees with an exaggerated grimace, "and I really need to go meet my tutor. She's probably already looking for me."

Jared chuckles. "You're skipping your classes? Again?"

Megan rolls her eyes and sighs. "I'm not skipping them, I'm simply delaying them. And can you blame me? History is just so boring."

"It's actually not," Jared replies, but Megan waves him off before he can say more.

"You're weird and like studying, I know," she complains and nudges him as they enter the castle. "I'll see you later."

"Try not to cause too much trouble," Jared advises, tone teasing, before he crosses the hall and makes his way up the long, winding staircase and then down the many corridors to where his chambers are. He smiles politely at the guards, murmurs a quick greeting when two maids pass him and curtsey. Walking quickly, he keeps his head down, trying to ignore the way the two young women burst into giggles once there's some distance between them. 

He knows his little acknowledgment will be discussed in great detail among them later, because Genevieve likes to fill him in on just what everyone at court is saying, how everyone is watching him and waiting for him to find someone. He used to ignore it, thinking there was plenty of time, but now he's approaching his mid-twenties and he knows people are getting a little restless, expecting him to settle down soon. 

Jared isn't opposed to the idea, really, but he's never met someone who he's been interested in as more than a friend and he likes to think, eventually, it'll happen, when the time is right. In the meantime, he tries not to become self-conscious about the way people are talking behind his back and watching, waiting.

Back in his chambers, he quickly strips out of his clothes and washes up as best as he can with a cloth, and water he pours into a basin. He makes a mental note to ask one of the maids to draw him a bath tonight, to relax his tired muscles and clean up properly. Just the thought of it makes his body hum with pleasure. 

First, though, there's an afternoon of meetings awaiting him. Jared dresses in an outfit that's a bit more formal: a light, silky tunic with a thick, black belt, over dark stockings, and soft leather shoes. 

He's barely out the door again, guards standing stock still on either side, when, out of the corner of his eye, he sees someone rushing down the corridor.

"Your Majesty," Genevieve calls out as she comes closer, looking flustered. "The king is awaiting you."

"Am I late for a meeting?" Jared asks, surprised, but Genevieve just puts a hand on his arm and tugs him away, glancing at the guards.

"He called an emergency meeting," she murmurs, once they're out of earshot.

"What? What's going on?"

Genevieve only shrugs. "I don't know. I was told to go find you and that it's urgent. We better hurry," she says, her expression grim. Jared feels a sudden wave of worry, a sense of foreboding settling in his stomach. He quickens his stride, following Genevieve down the winding corridors.

+

There are only a few people in the cabinet room, and as the heavy oak door falls shut behind him, Jared lets his eyes roam over the familiar faces. Present are his father's most trusted advisers. A handful of guards are standing back, faces purposefully blank. Genevieve nudges him, their eyes meeting for a moment before she joins the line of guards.

The only person Jared does not recognize is a young woman, standing next to Jeffrey Dean Morgan. She is biting down on her lower lip, obviously nervous, and when Jared catches her eyes, she quickly glances down.

"Jared," his father addresses him, clearing his throat, and Jared quickly looks at him.

"Your Majesty," he greets, with a small bow. He goes to stand beside Jeff, who is looking at the king grimly, lips pressed together in a tight line. 

"Ladies; gentlemen," Jared's father addresses the room, and Jared turns his attention to him. "I asked you all to come here because we have found ourselves in a very serious situation. The Padalecki gemstone was stolen."

For a moment, the room is absolutely silent, not even a rustling of clothes can be heard. Jared feels a chill go through him, his body frozen with shock. Each kingdom in the realm has a gem stone that holds the kingdom's power. They were given to the rulers centuries ago, and have been passed down through the royal families ever since. As far as Jared knows none of the stones have ever been stolen or gone missing, and he has no idea what this could mean for them, but he doubts that it's good. 

"How is that possible?" Jim Beaver, one of his father's advisors, finally asks, and the whole room breaks into sudden, nervous murmurs.

Jared looks at his father, waiting for an answer, an explanation, and it startles him to realize how worn he suddenly looks, how tired. "We don't know yet," his father answers. "We don't know who did it or how they got past the guards. The castle is being searched thoroughly as we speak, but we have to be prepared for the worst: that the gem is no longer here."

"Your Majesty, I mean no offense, but is it really that bad? It's a _stone_ ," Mark Pellegrino says, shaking his head. "Yes, there are many myths surrounding it, but is it really that powerful? Is it really necessary for the kingdom? Maybe it wouldn't make a difference. All we have to do, if you ask me, is keep this between us and nobody will be the wiser."

"But if someone does find out?" Samantha Smith chimes in. "Other kingdoms might think we've been weakened and see it as a perfect opportunity to attack. Without the stone, we're vulnerable, whether the gem holds actual power or not."

"We have treaties," Mark replies, and Samantha laughs humorlessly.

"They can be broken. And they will be."

"The gems are more than stones, either way," Jeff says from Jared's left. "They do hold power, and they connect the possessor to the land they rule over. Without it, the Padalecki kingdom _will_ diminish. To what extent might be hard to say, but we have to take the situation seriously. We need to get the stone back."

"How? How can we possibly find it when we don't even know who took it?" Jared asks, speaking up for the first time. He knows Jeff is right; he remembers his mother telling him stories about how the kingdoms were founded, about the sources of all of their power. She told him the stones were relics of old magic, that they were among the most powerful objects in the world, and that only the most deserving, most fair rulers were given a gem to ensure the power would be in the right hands. If the stories are true, the stones are crucial to the kingdoms within their realm, and Jared doesn't want to find out what would happen if the wrong person gets a hold of one of them.

"It's a difficult task, no doubt. But that's why I asked Miss Danneel to join us," Jeff replies, and steps back, drawing attention to the young woman next to him that Jared noticed when he entered the room. He forgot all about her, but now he regards her with renewed interest. The dress she wears, even if well-crafted, is too plain for someone from court and her red hair is swept back in a simple braid. She definitely does not come from a noble family, and Jared gets the feeling she isn't from the city either. 

"Your Majesty," she says, curtseying as she addresses the king. "Gentlemen, ladies."

"And who are you?" Samantha asks, suspicion clear in her voice.

"I'm a seer, milady," Miss Danneel replies, and within seconds another wave of uproar erupts in the small room. Jared keeps his mouth shut, his stomach twisting unpleasantly, and he looks at Jeff. Jeff still looks serious, worried, but he gives Jared a small, reassuring smile that's enough to settle Jared's nerves a little. If there's one person in this room that he trusts, apart from Genevieve, it's Jeff. He's been an advisor for his father for years now, and before that he worked in the royal guard, and Jared has known him since he was a child. 

"Silence," Jared's father finally bellows into the room, and everyone instantly goes quiet. "You have to excuse my cabinet, Miss Danneel. It's quite rare for someone like you to appear in front of the court."

His tone leaves no doubt that he wishes she was anywhere but here. Fourteen years ago, after Jared's mother had died fighting a powerful wizard who attacked the Padalecki kingdom, all magic was banned and heavy restrictions were issued for everyone in the kingdom. Most people possessing magic left the altogether; the few that stayed live mostly on the fringes of the kingdom, hiding away in solitude.

Danneel isn't doing anything wrong – seeing isn't considered actively practicing magic – but Jared suspects his father is probably still wary of her. Jared can't help but feel a burst of admiration for her, coming to the city and facing all of them like this when she must know what most people here think about people like her. He wishes he could be a bit more like her, could have a bit of her bravery and strength to stand up to his father, to voice his opinions freely and fight for what he thinks is right.

"Well then, what did you see?" Samantha asks into the silence.

"I saw the gem being taken by someone," Danneel starts. "And I saw it being hidden."

"You saw it being taken?" Mark echoes, sounding incredulous. "Then why, pray tell, did you not let his Majesty know right away? This whole debacle could have been prevented!"

Jared watches Danneel closely, sees her bite down on her bottom lip and glance ahead nervously. "I came to the court last week. I told his Majesty about what I saw then," she says softly, and glances at Jeff, who gives her a small nod.

"I saw no reason to believe her. We have excellent guards and nobody can just walk in here and steal something from us," King Padalecki says, his voice sharp. Jared looks at him, and his stomach clenches; he can't decide whether to feel sad or angry. He knows the only reason his father didn't take Danneel's warning seriously was because of what she is; he would never trust a seer. 

"Be that as it may," Jeff interjects, and Jared knows him well enough to know he's trying to smooth things over, to keep the peace. Whatever Danneel knows, Jeff seems to be convinced they need her, and that's good enough for Jared.

"You said you saw where the gem is hidden?" Jared asks, and Danneel gives him a nod.

"Yes, my Lord. It's on the Red Mountain, high up where the ground is covered in snow," she says. "I saw it being hidden in a small rock crevice."

"Did you see who took it?" he asks, and Danneel shakes her head.

"I only ever see fragments and impressions of a scene when I have a vision," she explains, and Jared swears he sees his father flinch out of the corner of his eye. "I caught a glimpse of a figure, but he was hooded. I didn't recognize a face."

"Well, it's not much to go on," Samantha says. 

"It's all we have, so it has to be good enough. We need to retrieve the gem from the mountain," Jared says, and squares his shoulders. "I'll set out tomorrow."

"Jared," his father starts, and Jared meets his eyes across the room. He looks even more tired than before. Old. Jared isn't sure if he's just never noticed his father aging, or if this is a new development, but it makes him feel uneasy. 

The Red Mountain is situated at the northern border of the kingdom, and even on horse it would take a few days to get there. It's not going to be an easy journey, especially passing through the Red Forest at the foot of the mountain. Jared knows his father isn't going to be up for the task and he wouldn't be able to make the journey unnoticed either.

"Nobody will think much of it if I leave for a while. You don't need me here and if someone asks you can tell them I have decided to travel," Jared argues. "The gem should stay in Padalecki hands, so one of us has to go."

"I agree, my Lord. It makes the most sense for Jared to go," Jeff says, and Jared shoots him a grateful look. If there's one person his father will listen to, it's Jeff. "And I'll accompany him, of course. Keep him safe."

"Me too," Genevieve adds, and everyone turns to look at her. She raises her head, expression firm, and Jared has to suppress a smirk. She may have spoken out of turn, given that she's not part of the council, but Jared knows nobody will challenge her. Despite how tiny she is, Genevieve can be one of the scariest people Jared has ever met.

"Miss Danneel," he starts, looking at her next. "I know this is a lot to ask, but you'd be a great help up on the mountain. Would you consider coming with us?"

"It'd be my honor, my Lord," Danneel replies, giving him a small curtsy, and Jared gives her a grateful smile. He makes a mental note to pull her aside later and tell her to drop the formalities, though. If they're doing this together—if the council agrees, that is—there'll be no room for courtesies and ceremony. 

Jared looks back at his father, waiting for his final judgment. He doesn't look happy, expression tight and lips drawn down, but he gives Jared a small, resigned nod. 

Jared knows the situation is serious, knows the journey has only one clear aim, but he feels a flare of excitement in the pit of his stomach. He barely gets to leave the city and he's rarely ever traveled far. This is his chance to get out, to experience the world that lies beyond the safety and order of the city. He's heard whispers of people who practice magic in secret – sometimes, people like that are caught and imprisoned or forced to leave the country – and just the thought of going to places where things are maybe still a little different sends a thrill of something forbidden through Jared.

He has to bite back a smile, thinking about what may lie ahead.

Megan is going to throw a fit.

+

Jared stays up late that night, poring over maps with Jeff, working out a route. His father joins them every now and then, looking over their plans with a grim expression and trying to make sure they stay clear of any dangers. Jared isn't quite sure what kind of dangers he's expecting; the kingdom is pretty peaceful and he doubts they're going to run into much trouble along the way. But he knows it's hard for his father to let him go; ever since Jared's mother died, he's been holding on to Jared and Megan even more tightly, trying to shelter and protect them as much as he can.

He believes in what he told Megan earlier that day. Their father means well and Jared understands him, but he can't help feeling caged in sometimes. He remembers how different things were, how much better, and he misses those days. If he's honest with himself – and it's something he'd never dare voice – he misses magic too. It used to leave him in awe, the things he saw, the things people could do. There was a time when Jared thought magic was nothing but beautiful and good. Until the very same magic took his mother away. And still, he's never really forgotten how things used to be.

All the wonderful, simple things from his childhood seem like nothing but a distant memory, though. 

Jared used to be able to run through the narrow streets of the city with just one guard; he would play in the court and in the orchards and hills behind the castle. Now, Jared can't even leave the castle without a small army of guards trailing – not very subtly – behind him. 

He goes to bed that night feeling hopeful that, at least for a while, he'll be able to get out.

+

Jared packs hastily the next morning, cramming the simplest, sturdiest clothes he can find in his wardrobe into a linen backpack, and hiding some coins away at the bottom of it. He goes to meet his travel companions in the cabinet room, loading his backpack with provisions that have been laid out for them, before a small group of council members accompanies them out to the court.

The horses have been prepared, and Jared is glad to notice the saddles and tack are simple, the royal crest nowhere in sight. Genevieve, Jeff, and Danneel are dressed unobtrusively as well, nothing on them disclosing the fact that they're part of the royal court. They decided last night, while making plans, that it would be best for all of them to not draw attention to themselves, and while the horses alone will give away that they are not poor travelers, Jared thinks they'll do all right. They can pass for merchants from the city or a neighboring kingdom.

It's for that reason that they're not taking any flashy weapons either. Jared knows that's risky, but they can't go traveling in full armor and laden with weaponry. Genevieve and Jeff have short, light swords, and all of them carry daggers, but that's the extent they agreed on. Jared has a small knife tied to his thigh, so high up that it's hidden by his tunic: a gift that was given to him long ago. It's one of the few keepsakes he has, and he knows the complex, beautiful pattern carved into the handle by heart, could retrace it blindly.

He fastens his cloak around his shoulders, his hand brushing the necklace around his neck. It's the one other momento he is taking, but this one lacks any practical value. For a brief moment, he presses the pads of his fingers against the medallion, warmed from his skin, feels the small ridges and carvings forming the crest of his mother's family. 

He feels the familiar ache in his chest, that hopeless wish that she was still around, because everything would be different. Megan, standing close by, catches the movement and gives him a knowing, sad look.

Jared says goodbye to everyone and then goes to hug Megan last, holding her tight against his body for a few, short moments.

"Come back quickly, okay?" she whispers, and Jared nods against the top of her head.

"I will. Don't worry about me."

"I'm not," she huffs and pulls back. "But if you get to have fun out there whilst I have to stay here, you should at least not prolong the whole thing more than necessary."

Jared laughs. "I won't. I promise," he tells her. He hugs her once more, ignoring the way his eyes are suddenly burning with tears, and then pulls away. He gets on one of the horses, Danneel, Genevieve, and Jeff following suit.

They leave with little fanfare, but outside of the castle walls, riding through the narrow streets of the city, they do get their fair share of looks and whisperings. Jared keeps his gaze locked on the road ahead, posture stiff and straight.

It's only after they passed the city wall that he relaxes and as they ride further and further north, Jared finally turns his head and looks back. The city looms behind them, the castle towering over the houses spread out around it. As it gets smaller, slowly fading into the distance, Jared almost feels like a weight is being lifted off his shoulders, like he's freeing himself from something that he never knew was holding him down.

"We're going to head north," Jeff says as ride down the small, narrow road winding through the fields. "If we don't run into any complications, we'll hopefully make it as far as Farnworth today."

"How long do you think it'll take, getting to the Red Mountain?" Genevieve asks, guiding her horse so that she's flanking Jared. 

"Four or five days on horse," Jeff says with a shrug. "It could take us longer though."

"Why?"

"We might be meeting someone this afternoon," Jeff replies and Jared looks at him sharply. When they discussed the route the night before, Jeff mentioned neither extra stops nor meeting anyone, and he feels a little blindsided by the way Jeff casually mentions it now. 

"What?" he demands. "Who?"

"A friend," Jeff hedges.

"A friend," Genevieve repeats and turns her head toward Jared, looking at him with raised eyebrows. Jared knows her well enough to know that she's just as confused as he is, but that she's looking at him for how to react.

Jared frowns. "What the hell, Jeff?" he asks curtly. "Why are we meeting someone? I thought we agreed that we would take the quickest route to the mountain?"

"We shouldn't be fighting," Danneel interrupts.

"We shouldn't be keeping secrets either," Jared replies and cuts her an apologetic look when his voice comes out too sharp. "Sorry. You're right, we shouldn't be fighting. But Jeff shouldn't have kept this from me."

"Jared," Jeff starts. "Listen, you'll understand once we meet my friend. It's...complicated, to say the least. And I'm not even sure he'll meet us, which is why I didn't say anything sooner. Trust me, okay?"

Jared gives Jeff a hard look and finally gives him a small nod. He can't fully shake the displeasure he feels at Jeff, but he's never had reason to doubt him. He's one of the very few people Jared unconditionally trusts. 

"You better have a damn good reason for pulling this stunt, Morgan," he grumbles, and Jeff sends him a small, grateful smile.

"I hope so," he says.

+

They make good progress throughout the day, only stopping a couple of times for short breaks. By late afternoon, Jared feels tired and worn out, and he really hopes they make it to an inn that night so he can sleep in an actual bed. He's never spent more than a few hours riding at a time before and every single muscle in his body is aching right about now.

Jared seriously hopes things will get easier and that his body will adjust, or the next few weeks will be absolute torture.

"I thought I was in good shape," he mutters to Genevieve, who's riding by his side, and shifts, trying to find a more comfortable position on top of the horse.

Genevieve chuckles. "Missing the comforts of the castle already, my Lord?" she teases and Jared sticks his tongue out at her. He glances back ahead, and feels a small wave of elation when he spies what looks like a small clustering of houses at the horizon.

"Think that's Farnworth?" he asks. Genevieve makes a small humming noise.

"Could be," she says, and frowns. "No sight of Jeff's mysterious friend yet, though."

"Well, he did say he might not even show up," Jared replies, keeping his voice low so that Jeff and Danneel, who are riding a bit ahead of them won't hear. "I'm curious to see who it is and why Jeff's making such a fuss about him."

"Has to be someone special," Genevieve replies. "I mean, if it was someone _normal_ he could have just told us. And your father. Right?"

"Normal," Jared echoes and frowns, knowing what Genevieve is suggesting. It's the only explanation that really makes sense — they're meeting someone that Jared's father wouldn't approve of, and that's why Jeff kept it a secret. The thought has crossed Jared's mind already and it makes his stomach twist with a feeling that's not entirely unpleasant. 

"He was the one who brought Danneel to the meeting," Genevieve adds with a shrug. "He's obviously, you know, in cahoots with people like her."

 _Cahoots_. Jared bites down on his lower lip to keep from protesting the use of the word. He knows she's just echoing the rules and ideas she's been taught for the past decade and longer: beliefs that are so deeply rooted in her by now that he doesn't want to fault her for them. Like so many others in the city, Genevieve has learned to be wary of anyone who isn't 'normal.' She doesn't know better, but Jared has to try very hard not to be hurt by her ignorance, to remind himself again and again that she can't help it. 

"Gen, don't—" he starts, but is interrupted when Jeff lets out a sudden, loud whoop. Jared's head snaps up, scanning the small dirt road ahead of them. He squints when he makes out a figure in the distance, too far away to see him or her clearly.

"Jeff?" he calls out, unsure whether they should be cautious or if this is the guy Jeff wants them to meet up with. Jeff glances back, a wide grin on his face.

"I knew he'd come!" he exclaims.

"Who?" Jared tries, once more, but Jeff isn't paying attention to him anymore. He's focused on the figure ahead of them and he spurs his horse on, picking up some speed.

"Come on," Jared mutters, low and resigned, patting the neck of his horse and following Jeff swiftly.

Jared's confusion doesn't lift as they get closer, and he can actually make out the man that's standing by the side of the road, obviously waiting for them. He looks completely unremarkable – at least compared to the kind of person Jared was expecting. He's young and good-looking, and he certainly doesn't strike Jared as anything but an ordinary, if attractive, man from some village. There is nothing about him that looks even remotely magical, and Jared, for a moment, wonders if maybe his and Genevieve's suspicion was wrong. 

"Fuck, it's good to see you," Jeff calls out, bringing his horse to a halt and jumping off. The man smiles, eyes roaming over the four of them quickly. His posture is relaxed, but Jared still gets the impression he's nervous, cautious. He watches as Jeff strides forward and pulls him into a tight hug.

"It's been too long, my friend," the man says, hugging Jeff back, but his gaze comes to rest on Jared over Jeff's shoulder. It's not the gaze of a stranger, and Jared feels it like a stroke of lightning going through his whole body. He gets off his horse, his chest tight. His mind is suddenly a whirlwind of thoughts. Jared nearly stumbles. The man is smiling still, his eyes never leaving Jared, and it can't be, but they are a familiar, startling green. 

"Jensen," he whispers. The smile brightens, lips twitching up. Jared barely notices Jeff pulling back and stepping out of the way, but suddenly there's nothing between him and his old friend. Him and _Jensen_.

"Jensen," he repeats louder, and closes the distance between them in a few fast, long strides, and it's still like he can't get there fast enough. He all but falls into Jensen, strong arms coming around him, and Jensen laughs into his ear, sounding surprised and nervous all at once. 

"Hey Jared," Jensen says, voice deep and rumbling. It's the voice of a grown man, not a teenager, and it feels like it fills every cell of Jared's body. He ducks his head, overcome by the sudden urge to bury his face in Jensen's neck and never let him go. Everything about him is so familiar, yet so different, and Jared feels like he can't breathe. 

He hasn't laid eyes on Jensen in fourteen years, not since the day his father banned magic from the kingdom and the Ackles left the city. He remembers hiding in his chambers, watching the huge, bulky bodies of three dragons getting smaller and smaller on the horizon. He had cried for what felt like hours, feeling so utterly lost and lonely, losing his best friend so shortly after losing his mother. He'd pleaded with his father to let Jensen and his parents stay, to make an exception, and it had hurt so badly to see his pleas falling on deaf ears. 

Jared tightens his arms around Jensen, feeling his body pressed against his, warm and strong and real. 

"It's okay," Jensen says softly. He's rubbing small, comforting circles over Jared's back and Jared realizes that he's shaking, and his eyes are burning. He's always missed Jensen, but until now, he hadn't realized just how much he had missed his childhood friend. 

He loosens his grip on Jensen to take a look at him, needing to see his face. To take it all in, catalog all the differences: the ways in which Jensen has grown up. Jensen is smiling up at him, wide and happy, and it's startling to realize that Jensen has to look up because Jared is taller than him now. He still has freckles, and his nose is just a little crooked, traces of the teenager Jared once knew so well are hidden there, but the angles of his face are sharper now, his jaw defined and covered in a few days' worth of stubble.

"I missed you," Jensen says, his voice quiet like the words are meant just for Jared, and Jared laughs. He leans forward to rest his forehead against Jensen's for a moment. His skin is warm and smooth, and God, he smells good. 

"Yeah," he mumbles. "You have no idea."

Someone clears their throat behind them, breaking Jared from his stupor, arms falling from around Jensen as he takes a quick step back. He looks back at the others; Jeff is smiling at them, but Genevieve is looking completely confused.

Jared licks over his suddenly dry lips. "Gen. Danneel. This is Jensen, one of my oldest friends," he introduces, glancing at Jensen and barely resisting the urge to pull him into another hug, to make up for all of the things they missed out on over the past fourteen years.

"Wait. Jensen, the..." Genevieve trails off, her eyes wide. The silence between them, though barely longer than a second, feels thick and tense.

"Dragon," Jensen finishes, stepping just a bit closer to Jared. Genevieve flinches, but she doesn't say anything; she just stares at Jensen. He's not doing anything wrong by being in the kingdom as long as he doesn't shift, doesn't use his magic, but Jared can tell Genevieve isn't pleased by presence. She's scared of him, as if Jensen – of all people – poses any kind of danger. Jensen looks unfazed, though, almost serene, and part of Jared hates that Genevieve's wariness doesn't even bother him, doesn't make him angry. 

"So. Anyone want to fill me in on what's going on?" Jensen finally asks. "Jeff sent a messenger to me last night and told me that you needed help, and that I should meet you here."

"Jared," Genevieve starts, voice hesitant, but Jared just gives her what he hopes is a reassuring look. He knows working with a seer is one thing, because Danneel is ultimately just a human, but a dragon is a whole other story. Unlike him, Genevieve grew up outside the city, in a small town and there hadn't been any dragons around those parts of the kingdom. From what she's told Jared, she'd never even really had much contact with magic. By the time she came to the city as a teenager, magic already been banned from the kingdom and there'd been a lot of hostility toward it in the city especially. Jared tries not to hold it against her that she's adopted the views of the court, because she has spent over a decade living and working with these people as part of the guard. Like with most people, her views has been shaped by the things she's been told and their opinions have become engrained in her. He's told her stories about Jensen a few times, but she'd always seemed wary of them, and actually meeting him must be strange to her.

"The Padalecki gem was stolen," he says, turning to Jensen. "We're trying to retrieve it before the information gets out."

Jensen curses, and Jeff clears his throat.

"I was hoping you'd be willing to accompany us. We need all the help we can get, and you're probably better equipped at keeping Jared – _all of us_ – safer than anyone else."

"I'm keeping Jared safe," Genevieve butts in. 

"You're only human, Gen. We don't know what we're going to face on this journey," Jeff replies, and Genevieve glares at him, arms crossed over her chest.

"He's right," Danneel interjects. "I haven't seen much so far, but I doubt things will be easy. Having a dragon might be a great help."

"Jensen?" Jeff prompts, and Jared meets Jensen's eyes.

"You don't have to. I'd completely understand," he says softly. "After everything that's happened, you have every right to tell us to go to hell. It's not your responsibility."

Jensen gives him a small smile. "Of course it is. You always had the tendency to stumble head-first into trouble, Jared, and I spent all of our childhood saving you. It's what I did, and that hasn't changed as far as I'm concerned."

"Things are different now."

"Yeah, but that's not something _you're_ responsible for," Jensen says. "So, where are we heading?"

"The Red Mountain," Jeff says, and Jared watches Jensen wince.

"For today though, just to Farnworth," he adds quickly, and Jensen laughs.

"That sounds better," he agrees, clapping Jared on the back. "Well, let's get going. You can fill me in on the rest later. Plus, I want to know what the hell happened to the skinny little rugrat I once knew."

"I always told you I'd be tall," Jared boasts, puffing out his chest a little, and Jensen shakes his head.

"Yeah, tall, but not a half-giant," he teases.

"Are you insulting the Padalecki lineage, Jensen?" Jared asks.

"Nah, just you, princess," Jensen retorts, and it's so easy to fall back into the familiar banter.

Jared smirks and takes a few steps to stand by his horse, patting the side of her neck. Then he turns back to frown at Jensen. "We only have four horses."

"Well, horses and dragons don't exactly mix well anyway," Jensen says with an easy shrug, wrinkling his nose.

"So, I guess walking it is," Jeff suggests, taking the reins of his horse into his hand. "It's not much further to Farnworth anyway. We'll get rooms there and talk about how to continue once we have food, and maybe an ale."

"Or maybe two," Danneel adds, wincing a little as she stretches before picking up the reins as well. "I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I'm aching all over."

"Fuck yeah," Jared agrees with a groan. He meets her eyes and she grins at him. She's been fairly quiet all day, and he understands it because they're all strangers to her, but he hopes she's going to relax around them soon. He has a feeling this journey is going to require that all of them stick together.

"You're pathetic," Genevieve declares, falling into step with them. 

"I could have you beheaded for that comment," Jared shoots back, flashing a grin. Genevieve rolls her eyes.

"And I could behead you before you could even utter the command," she replies, and Jensen makes a gruff sound. Jared glances at him and sees him frowning at Genevieve, eyebrows drawn together.

"I'd kill you before you could even try," he says, and he sounds completely serious.

"Or how about we all just leave each other unharmed?" Jared suggests, trying to lighten the mood. 

This whole thing may be a lot more complicated than he thought it would be.


	2. Chapter 2

Farnworth isn't a very big town, but it's close enough to the city that they get a lot of travelers passing through, and the inn is nice and comfortable. They leave the horses with the inn-keeper's son, who promises to take good care of them. Once they arrange the rooms for all of them, they meet up in the inn's tavern.

They get ale and dinner – a thick stew with freshly baked bread – and cluster around a large wooden table in the far corner of the room, away from all the other guests. Jared's stomach is rumbling, and he eagerly slurps down a few spoonfuls of the stew, feeling it settle warmly in his stomach, before he clears his throat.

"So, if horses are out for Jensen," he starts, picking up the slice of bread and ripping a piece off, "that means we're on foot for the rest of the journey."

"No offense, but are we sure it wouldn't be easier to just travel alone by horse then? It would be a lot quicker," Genevieve points out, and Jared notices how she's not meeting Jensen's eyes.

"But not safer, we already covered that," Jeff interjects, shaking his head. "Plus, once we get to the Red Forest we'd have to leave the horses behind anyway. No animal would enter that forest, even if we tried to make them. So yeah, it's going to take us a lot longer, but I think it's the better option."

"I agree," Jared says. "We don't know who took the gem. We could be running head-first into danger for all we know."

Danneel clears her throat, looking thoughtfully at Jensen. "I don't know much about dragons, but couldn't you, you know, fly?" she asks, keeping her voice low. The tables around them are empty and nobody is paying them any attention, but Jared still feels a flare of worry.

Jensen frowns. "I can't let people see me in my dragon form, so I couldn't be anywhere near villages. It's too dangerous for me, so I'd have to take a completely different route than you," he says, shaking his head. "And that would completely go against the purpose of me being there to protect you."

"And you couldn't take us?" Genevieve asks. Jared can see the way Jensen tenses at her words, his expression darkening.

"I'm not a ferry boat. We don't transport people," he grinds out, and Jared lays a comforting hand on his arm.

"Sorry," Genevieve quickly says. "I just...I don't know a lot about dragons. I didn't mean to insult you, Jensen, really."

Jensen remains tense for a moment longer, but then he nods and relaxes.

Jeff coughs not at all subtly. "So, the way I see it, walking is the only option we have. It might actually be a good idea anyway. The further away from the city we get, the poorer the areas are going to be. Things are pretty abysmal in some villages. Traveling by horse might just draw attention to us and that's the last thing we want."

"We better send word back to court then, let them know we're going to be gone a lot longer than we thought," Jared says, and Jeff and Genevieve nod at him from across the table.

"Tomorrow morning, right before we leave," Jeff suggests, picking up his ale and taking a big swig from it. 

"So, can I ask what the whole story is anyway? How do you know where the gem is?" Jensen asks and snorts. "Don't tell me the king used magic to locate it."

Jared ducks his head and lets out a short, bitter laugh. "Oh no. Never," he replies, and they quickly fill Jensen in on what happened and Danneel's part in it.

"Why would anyone hide the gem on top of the Red Mountain though?" Jensen asks. 

"Well, you have to admit it's not exactly an easy place to reach. And if it wasn't for Danneel, we never would have thought to look for it there either. Hell, it might have ended up being up there for all eternity. I can't imagine it's a place that sees many travelers," Jared reasons with a shrug.

Jensen hums in agreement. "Yeah, 'cause few people are insane enough to pass through the Red Forest."

"So it's true then?" Genevieve asks. "It's cursed?"

Jensen shrugs. "I don't know about cursed, but there's definitely something wrong with the place. I've never been there myself, but I know dragons can't even shift in there. And it takes something very powerful to do that."

"Is it safe for you to go there then? And us?" Jared asks, shuddering at the thought of going to such a place. He wonders, not for the first time, what the Red Forest will be like for him, if he'll feel any different at all. 

Jensen gives him a small smile. "I'll be fine. Don't worry," he says. "Whoever hid the gem made it through there, so we can, too."

"I'll drink to that," Jeff says, raising his mug. Everyone else around their table follows suit, and they clink their mugs together.

+

They finish a second round of beer before they head up to their rooms. Jared feels bone-tired and he can't wait to crawl into the, albeit small, bed and get some rest.

He's just finished undressing, his clothes folded neatly on the chair in the corner of the room, when he hears a knock on his door. Jared looks down at the soft breeches and shirt he's wearing. It's not exactly the kind of attire he would normally let anyone see him in, but this isn't court, so he goes to open the door. He just pulls it back a little, peeks out and then pulls it wide open when he sees Jensen standing there.

"Hey," he says. "Everything okay?

He takes a step back and lets Jensen enter, watching Jensen scan the room. 

"Everything's fine," Jensen says once his eyes settle on Jared again. "I just don't feel comfortable letting you sleep without a guard."

Jared's lips quirk up into a smile. "So you want someone stationed outside my room? 'Cause that's a sure way to draw attention to me."

Jensen glares at him. "Don't be an idiot," he replies. "I just thought I'd stay in here tonight."

"Seriously?" Jared asks, and glances at the bed, feeling a flush go through his body at the thought of sharing a bed with Jensen. He's never done that, with anyone, and it's certainly not something he would have been allowed to do at court. Yet, to his surprise, the idea of having Jensen next to him is anything but unpleasant.

"On the floor," Jensen adds, and Jared clears his throat.

"Right. Sure," he says. "But I don't think that's necessary. Nobody recognized me."

"Maybe, maybe not. Doesn't mean you're safe either way," Jensen argues, and Jared, even after all these years apart, knows Jensen won't be talked out of his idea. He's always been stubborn and Jared remembers countless arguments they had that all ended with Jensen getting his way. Usually that meant they wouldn't go jumping off any high rocks, sneaking off, or stealing all the cookies from the castle's kitchen. 

"Fine," he agrees with a sigh, and shrugs. "The floor is all yours. Just don't complain when your back hurts tomorrow."

"I've slept in worse places," Jensen replies easily, and then goes to retrieve the bedding from his own room. Jared sits down on his bed and can't help but wonder what Jensen's last comment meant. Back in the city, Jensen and his parents lived in one of the biggest houses, right by the castle, and Jensen spent most of his days at court with him. His family had always been respected and well-known in the Padalecki kingdom, and though Jared spent a lot of time wondering where Jensen was and what he was doing after they were forced to leave, he never really thought they weren't doing well. It hurts him to think that perhaps things had been even worse for Jensen than he'd thought.

When Jensen returns, Jared crawls into his bed, waiting for Jensen to get comfortable on the floor, before he extinguishes the oil lamp sitting on his dresser. The room goes completely dark, and Jared closes his eyes, but he suddenly doesn't feel tired anymore. The mattress is a lot harder than what he's used to, the bedding stiff and scratchy, and Jared shifts with a sigh.

"Jensen?" he whispers, and Jensen hums softly. "Where did you and your family go after you left the city? Were things...okay?"

Jensen snorts. "Define okay," he mutters. 

"I mean, I know it must have been horrible. But you got by okay, right?" Jared asks hastily, feeling utterly foolish and ignorant. Jensen had to leave his home and his friends behind, while Jared remained in a castle with all the luxuries imaginable. 

"We did okay," Jensen answers and Jared hears him shift. "It sucked and I hated leaving. The court, the city, it was home. It was the only place I'd ever known and being banished like that, for who we were, it wasn't easy. I'm not gonna lie and say there weren't some pretty rough days, but we weren't starving if that's what you're wondering. We're dragons, Jay, we can take care of ourselves."

"I'm sorry," Jared whispers into the darkness, feeling his eyes sting with tears.

"I already told you it wasn't your fault."

"But it was my father's. Not much of a difference, if you ask me."

"Well, if you ask _me_ , that's a huge difference," Jensen replies. "And I'm the one whose opinion matters on this, so just accept it."

"Bullhead," Jared mutters, but he can't help smiling. "Where'd you go?"

"The mountains east of the kingdom. Not far from the border, actually. Quite a few people from the kingdom migrated there," Jensen explains. "There are a number of small settlements now; sometimes it's just families, but a few villages formed as well. Most people stayed at the foot of the mountains, but we lived a little higher up. Easier to shift and fly."

"And your parents? They're doing well?" 

"They're fine," Jensen assures him. "They miss the city, though." 

"Why didn't you guys go somewhere else then? There are other cities, in other kingdoms. They would have taken you in, surely." 

"But the Padalecki kingdom is home. My family has lived there for centuries. My parents wanted to stay close by, I think, or maybe they just didn't trust any of the other kingdoms to treat us fairly either." 

"I'm sorry," Jared whispers again, and Jensen sighs.

"Stop it, Jay. I'm serious, no more apologizing," he chides softly. "I'm starting to think you suffered just as much as the rest of us did. You were a child and there's nothing you could have done at the time. The only thing you can do is be fair and kind once it's your time to rule, and help the kingdom return to its former glory." 

Jared sighs, rolling onto his back. He closes his eyes, his chest feeling tight. "My father is a good person. He made some mistakes, but believe me when I tell you he's a good person, Jensen." 

"He is, Jared. But he's blind with grief, even now, and he let his pain cloud his judgment. I don't presume to know what it feels like to lose someone you love so dearly, and I'm sorry he had to go through that. But whether or not his reaction was justified, he hasn't been a good ruler. He's hurt the kingdom greatly," Jensen answers. "And worst of all, he's hurt his own children." 

Jared lets out a deep breath, and he isn't sure what to say to Jensen. He's right about everything he's said, and part of Jared hates it. He wishes there was something he could say to defend his father, but he knows there's nothing to say. He did make mistakes and he hurt a lot of people, Jared included. And Jared can only hope that Jensen is right: when his time comes, he'll do a better job at ruling the kingdom.

"Get some sleep, Jared," Jensen says softly. "Things will be okay, I promise."

Jared nods even though Jensen can't see him in the dark, childishly deciding to believe Jensen even though he knows it's not a promise he can make. But it reassures him anyway, enough to ease the tension inside of him a little.

+

They set out early the next morning. Jeff found a local to purchase the horses from them, and they stock up on food and water and send out a message to the court at the last possible moment.

The fog of the early morning is still hanging over the fields when they leave Farnworth, and Jared's glad he has a heavy cloak to keep him warm. He's also secretly glad they left the horses behind, because his backside is still hurting a little from the day before. He has no doubt that by the end of this day his feet won't feel any better, but for now he's happy to walk. 

Jensen sticks close to him at first, and it's only by noon that he strays a little further, and stops looking around like he's waiting for someone to jump them.

They take more breaks than they did before, refilling their water skins when they come across small springs or streams. When they break for lunch, Jeff gets a map from his backpack.

"I say we stay on the path that Jared and I worked out," Jeff says, tracing the route they marked. "We won't be able to reach a village or town every night, but it's the quickest route. You all okay with that?"

Everyone murmurs their agreement, and Jared's attention stays fixed on the map a little longer, trying to gauge how far they'll make it today. He guesses tonight will be the first night they'll have to stay outside, because the next village on their route is too far away by foot. They're far enough from the city that settlements are starting to get fewer and fewer. 

The others spread out around him with their lunch, Danneel going to refill the water in a nearby stream while Genevieve lies down on the grass and lets the sun shine in her face. Jeff folds the map back up and Jared gets up, goes to sit by Jensen on the ground and steals a bit of the cheese Jensen has cut into thick slices and put on his bread.

"Hey," Jensen grouses, and glares at him. Jared grins and chews loudly, before opening his mouth widely, showing Jensen the chewed-up cheese.

"You're disgusting," Jensen says, shaking his head, and Jared laughs.

"I'm lovable. Ask anyone who knows me, they'll agree."

"Yeah, because you're the son of the king, ass-wipe. They're too scared to tell you that you completely lack any form of manners," Jensen replies and knocks their shoulders together. "I remember how everyone was always kissing your ass."

"Pff, not true. You never did," Jared argues. "You never shared your cookies with me and you always teased me about my hair."

"That's why I was your favorite."

"You were my favorite because you're a freaking dragon. You could spew fire and fly," Jared says and grins wistfully. "Good old times, huh?"

"They were pretty good, yeah," Jensen agrees and hands Jared another slice of cheese. Jared takes it with a smile.

"I don't think I said it yesterday, but I'm glad you're coming with us," he says. "I know it's no longer your concern, what happens with the kingdom. Hell, you're the last person anyone would expect to help my father out."

"I'm not here for him, Jared."

Jared laughs. "No, I guess not. You're here because Jeff asked you to come."

"No, I'm not here for him either," Jensen says, shaking his head. He nudges Jared with his elbow. "Idiot."

Jared turns his head, and they share a small smile. "Thank you," Jared finally mumbles and then wrinkles his nose. "Hey, what's the story with you and Jeff anyway? I know you knew each other when you still lived in the city, but I had no clue he knew where you'd gone and how to contact you."

Jensen shrugs. "He actually stayed in contact with a few people who left the kingdom. He traveled a lot for your father, and sometimes he dropped by the settlements just beyond the border. My father and he were good friends, so we saw him a handful of times over the years."

"He never told me."

"Well, I doubt it would have been looked upon kindly, if he'd told people," Jensen points out. 

Jared sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose. "Things are so fucked up," he murmurs, and Jensen puts his arm around him, squeezing his shoulder.

"Not forever. Have a little faith, Jared."

"In what?"

"In yourself, for starters," Jensen says.

+

Jared's guess comes true and they spend the night outside. They find a small cluster of trees, not quite big enough to call it a forest, but enough to offer them some shelter.

As the sun goes down, the air starts to become rather chilly. They gather some twigs and branches, lighting a fire they can sit around. Staring at the bright orange flames, the others sitting close by and chatting, Jared relaxes, warm and happy. He feels a little guilty, because he knows their quest isn't about having fun, but he can't help but enjoy the moment. This is exactly what he'd longed for – to get away from court, to just be for a while, without the pressure of all the expectations. Three of the four people with him are his best friends, and the more time he spends with Danneel the more he's starting to appreciate her, too. He can't remember the last time he felt this free, this at ease.

"You worry too much, you know?" Danneel, who's sitting next to him, says softly. Jensen and Jeff are engaged in a heated debate over ale and Genevieve is watching them with an amused grin on her face.

"Some would argue that I should be worried," Jared says, drawing his knees up a little, and shoots Danneel a quick grin. "You know, given the fact that the Padalecki gem is missing, the outcome of this plan of ours is completely unknown, and I'm hanging out with a dragon, which my father would condemn, no doubt."

"With all due respect to the king, I think he'd be wrong to condemn you, or Jensen, and I think you'd agree. And I have a good feeling, Jared. Things will be fine."

"Is that advice from a seer or, you know, just you?"

Danneel laughs softly. "It's not like I'm two separate people, so both?" she says and shrugs. "It's just a feeling, I guess."

"Well, don't tell anyone, but I have a pretty good feeling about this, too," Jared admits, and his eyes find Jensen across the fire. He's laughing at something Jeff said, head thrown back, and Jared isn't sure he's ever felt this good and ached this much at the same time.

They get ready to sleep not too long after that, the fire still burning. 

"Would it be okay if I changed?" Jensen asks suddenly, and Jared looks at him from where he's trying to squish his backpack in a way that it'll work as a makeshift pillow. Jensen is looking uncomfortable, a little unsure even, and the others have stopped what they're doing, too, staring at him.

"Into a dragon?" Danneel finally asks, voice a little awed. 

Jensen shrugs. "It'll be more comfortable for me."

"Is it safe? I mean, if someone passes by..." Jeff starts.

"There's nobody here," Jensen says, shaking his head. "And I'll hear them long before they'd be able to see us. My senses are way more sensitive when I'm in my dragon form. But if one of you would feel uncomfortable..."

"Don't be ridiculous," Jared interjects quickly, before anyone can offer any objection. "Of course you can change if you want to."

Jensen gives him a grateful smile and nods, but Jared notices how he glances around at the others anyway. He follows Jensen's line of sight, relaxing when no one protests. He turns away then, busying himself with preparing camp for the night to give Jensen some privacy. 

It's only when he hears a soft whoosh of air, a sound that's still familiar after all these years that he looks back at Jensen. He's barely able to suppress a gasp though, because the sight that greets him is definitely _not_ familiar. 

It's still Jensen no doubt. His scales are the same green color, suffused with gold and rust, that Jared remembers, but he's massive now, easily twice as big as when Jared last saw him in his dragon form.

"Holy shit," he murmurs and Jensen ducks his head, looking at Jared with unsure eyes. Like he expects Jared to suddenly not be okay with the whole dragon thing, the idiot, and Jared lets out a soft laugh. "And I thought _I_ grew up."

Jensen lets out a soft rumble and Jared takes a few steps closer, holding out his hand. Jensen stretches toward him and butts his snout against Jared's open palm, and Jared grins.

+

Danneel and Genevieve are both obviously a little startled by the sight of Jensen in his dragon form, but Jared can tell they're trying not to let it show too much. He can't really blame them – if he hadn't grown up with dragons, he'd probably feel intimidated, too.

They settle down for the night and Jared is surprised when Jensen lies down right behind him, the ground shaking as he gets comfortable.

"He'll squish you to death," Genevieve says, and Jared can tell there's real alarm in her voice. Jensen just lets out an indignant snort and covers Jared with his wing, engulfing him in complete darkness.

"Oh my god," Jared mutters, but curls up against Jensen's side and lays his hand against the warm, scaly skin near his belly. "You're being completely overprotective. And you're probably trying to freak Gen out on purpose, asshole."

Jensen just rumbles, the sound vibrating against Jared's hand, and Jared shakes his head in amusement. He scoots closer anyway, because Jensen is warm and his wing is like a huge blanket hovering over him and it's kind of nice. Comforting. 

"We're talking about this tomorrow," Jared says around a yawn, words coming out a little slurred and not at all chastising. He can always give Jensen hell for this the next day, he figures. For now, he lets his eyes slide close and drifts off into an easy sleep.

+

When Jared wakes up the next morning, his cloak is draped over him and Jensen is gone. He sits up, rubs his eyes and looks around their small camp. Jensen is back in his human form, talking to Jeff, and Genevieve is sitting close by Jared while Danneel is repacking her back.

"So, you're alive," Genevieve notes, a small frown on her face.

"Hmm," Jared mumbles and stretches his arms over his head. "'Course I am."

"He could have hurt you."

"Nah," Jared says, shaking his head. "We used to take naps out in the sun together all the time. Given, Jensen was a lot smaller back then, but so was I. He was still huge in comparison to me."

"I still think it's dangerous. What if he rolled over in his sleep or something?" Genevieve asks.

"I wouldn't," Jensen calls out, looking at them unhappily.

"He really wouldn't. Don't worry," Jared adds, and he places a hand on Genevieve's arm, squeezing it. 

"I was protecting him," Jensen points out, stepping closer to them and reaching for his backpack on the ground. "And keeping him warm." 

"While the rest of us were freezing our asses off," Genevieve mutters, and Jared bites back a groan. He's starting to get the feeling Jensen and Genevieve will never get along, and it has nothing to do with Jensen being a dragon. There's a weird sense of rivalry between them, and Jared knows it's because of him. They're both protective of him, but Jared is starting to see that neither of them will easily trust the other; especially not with Jared.

"You're not royalty," Jensen says to Genevieve with a shrug. "You don't need protection."

"So we're what? Replaceable?" Danneel asks from where she's still crouched on the ground, her voice soft and more curious than anything.

Jensen looks at her, lips tugged down in a frown, and shrugs. "I suppose, yes."

"Jensen," Jared hisses, and then looks at Danneel pleadingly. "He didn't mean that. We're _all_ important."

"Jared is right," Jeff speaks up, and Jared sees him give Jensen a pointed look. "As long as we're on this journey, our ranks shouldn't matter. We need to stick together if we want to make it up the Red Mountain and find the gem. Arguing won't help us."

Jensen huffs, but at least he doesn't say anything in reply, and Genevieve looks a little mollified. Jared sends Jeff a grateful look. 

The atmosphere between them remains tense though as they scarf down their meager breakfast and gather their things before they set off for the day. Jared waits until they've been walking for a little while before he puts his hand on Jensen's arm and slows down until they fall out of earshot.

"You can't say stuff like that, Jensen," he mutters.

"It was the truth."

Jared sighs. "Jensen. Please," he begs.

"What do you want from me, Jared?" Jensen asks. "I'm here to make sure you're okay and get the stone back. That's it. That's _all_ I care about."

"But--" Jared starts, but Jensen yanks his arm away and glares at him.

"Don't. Okay?" he mutters. "You wouldn't understand anyway."

He pulls away from Jared and strides ahead. Jared falters, watching after him helplessly. He's not sure what he did wrong, or why Jensen is mad at him now, and he wishes he could go back to last night, when they were all gathered around the fire and getting along. 

He sighs, and picks up some speed to catch up with the others, pretending not to notice the way Jensen isn't looking at him and suddenly keeping his distance.

+

They pass a small village early that afternoon, but decide to keep going since there are still a few hours of daylight left. Coming to that agreement is the most they've all spoken together since breakfast, and Jared secretly thinks the reason everyone is eager to keep going is that it gives them something to do, rather than spending time together in the same inn.

Jensen is obviously still upset and Genevieve keeps glaring daggers at Jensen. Jared kind of wants to hit his head against the nearest tree. Jeff seems like the only sane one; he looks amused by the whole thing and Jared wonders if this was what it was like for him when he tried to break up one of the many squabbles between him and Meg as teenagers. If it is, Jared owes him hours and hours of apologies.

+

Jared has a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach as they enter a forest a few hours later. The sun is starting to set and they need to find a place to set up their camp for the night. The deep, dark forest spreading out to their left had seemed like the perfect place at first, but Jared isn't so sure anymore.

The path winding through the trees is barely visible, covered with moss and leaves, as if people rarely set foot into the forest. Yet, it's wide enough that Jared thinks it must have been well-traveled at one point.

"Look up," Jensen suddenly says, as they come to a small clearing that's almost entirely overgrown by vines and high grass. He's pointing up at the trees and Jared tilts his head up, not sure what he's looking for, and then he notices the wooden structures high up in the trees. They're houses.

Jared tenses, scanning the area again for people, but he sees Genevieve reaching for the dagger at her hip.

"There's nobody here," Jensen says softly, shaking his head. He steps into the clearing and slowly turns, looking up at the trees. "It's abandoned."

"Who—" Jared asks, and Danneel makes a startled noise. He turns to her and finds her with one hand pressed against a tree, a pained expression on her face.

"Wood nymphs, right?" she asks, and Jared wonders if she guessed or if she saw something. 

"Yeah," Jensen says. "They must have left when the magic was outlawed."

The words hit Jared like a stab in the chest and he wraps his arms around his waist. There are at least twenty houses, built into huge, old trees. A whole settlement, empty and abandoned, because of what his father did.

"Let's walk a little further," he suggests softly, and doesn't wait for anyone else to agree. He doesn't want to be here, where he sees the impact of his father's law so clearly, where everything feels so _off_ and wrong to him. 

The city had changed drastically when those with magic left fourteen years ago, but there'd still been a lot of people left. Life had continued. This forest is entirely devoid of life and the empty houses up in the trees make him feel almost sick to his stomach.

He hears the others follow him, twigs breaking under their feet and leaves rustling. 

After a few minutes, they come across a small lake. Jared is tempted to ask everyone to go further into the forest, farther away from the empty settlement, but he knows it's going to get dark soon and it doesn't make sense to stray too far from their route. 

Jensen and Jeff offer to gather wood for a fire and Jared, Genevieve, and Danneel go to fill up their water skins.

"Are you okay?" Danneel asks as they kneel down by the shore, and Jared shrugs.

"The whole forest feels wrong," Jared replies. "You felt it too, right?"

"Yeah," Danneel agrees with a nod and gives him a sad smile.

"What do you mean? I didn't feel anything," Genevieve. "I mean, yeah, the clearing was kind of creepy, but it wasn't that bad."

For a split second, Jared contemplates saying something. Explaining what he felt and _why_. Instead he busies himself with refilling the water skins. "Just a feeling," he mutters, and clears his throat. "I'm sorry about this morning, by the way. About what Jensen said. He... well, it's not true."

Danneel huffs, shaking her head, but she's smiling. "It's okay. I get it."

"You do?" Genevieve asks, and Danneel shrugs.

"He's a dragon," she says, like those three simple words explain everything.

"He shouldn't have said what he said," Jared argues. 

Genevieve mutters 'yeah' under her breath, and Jared knows she's still feeling bitter about her spat with Jensen. He honestly can't blame her for the way Jensen dismissed her importance, but Danneel purses her lips. "It's a dragon's nature to be territorial and protect what's theirs. Jared comes first and the rest of us can't compare to that."

"I'm not _his_ ," Jared argues, just as Genevieve asks, "How do you know that?"

Danneel shrugs. "There used to be dragons where I'm from. Back before I was born. My grandmother, she was friends with one of them, and she used to tell me stories about how dragons are," she says, and raises her eyebrows at Jared. "It's true, right? They're really possessive and protective?" 

"Well, yeah," Jared admits, remembering Jensen as a child. They'd always been thick as thieves, even though Jensen was a few years older, but Jensen had his fair number of spats with the other children at court. He'd huffed and sulked whenever someone else tried to join in on their games and he'd always protected Jared, taken care of him.

Jared sighs. "Him being a dragon has nothing to do with his behavior this morning. In case you didn't notice, I'm not a sparkling piece of jewelry that can be owned. We're just old friends and... well, he doesn't know you guys that well yet."

"He has a great deal of affection for you," Genevieve points out and shrugs. "It kinda makes sense, the whole territorial, protective thing."

Jared fills up the next water skin and shakes his head. "Look, he cares about me, and yes, he's being overprotective, but you're reading too much into this," he says, trying to make his voice sound final. "He can come off a bit strong. Just... try not to take it to heart, is all I'm saying, okay?"

He seems to have gotten his point across, because both Danneel and Genevieve nod and drop the topic. They finish refilling the rest of the water skins and carry them back to their camp for the night. Jensen and Jeff have already cleared some space on the ground and piled up twigs, and Jared sits down and watches them light the fire, watches Jensen.

The longer he's just sitting there, the more he feels like the forest is closing in on him. It's not as bad as it was in the clearing, but he still feels the tension, the emptiness of the place. He looks around at the others, but none of them are paying any attention to him, too busy preparing for the night.

Jared sighs and gets up, deciding to stretch his legs a little, hoping that walking will keep his mind off things for a while. He thinks about heading back to the lake at first, maybe wash up a little, but he unconsciously finds himself retracing the narrow, overgrown path they took that leads him back to the clearing.

The forest is darker now, as the sun is setting and the sky overhead is turning a murky gray, and the place feels even worse. Jared takes a deep, slow breath. He tries to imagine what it must have been like before, when the clearing was filled with life, and he thinks it was probably a beautiful place once. The structures up in the trees are beautifully crafted, some so perfect they look like they're part of the trees, carved right into them. 

For a moment, he considers trying to find a way up into one of them, to see if the structures still hold and look at the clearing from above. To see what the wood nymphs must have seen from their homes high up.

"What are you doing here?"

Jared whirls around and finds Jensen standing a few feet away, looking at him with a curious expression.

"I," Jared starts, and then shrugs helplessly, not really sure what so say. "I don't know."

Jensen takes a couple of steps closer and sits down on a fallen tree trunk, patting the empty place at his side. Jared sits down and stretches his legs out, and tips his head back to stare up at the sky.

"It must have been beautiful here, at one point," he murmurs, and looks back down, shuddering. "You know, before."

"Yeah," Jensen agrees. 

"Do you ever wonder if there had been a way you could have stayed? Changed my father's mind?"

Jensen sighs. "Sometimes," he says. "But your father held the power."

"The gem."

"Yes. It's hard to fight something like that," Jensen says. "And he had a lot of support, too. Your mother was very beloved in the kingdom and her death triggered a lot of resentment. There were people who agreed with your father and they wanted us gone. I think for most of us it was just easier to leave – the people I met and talked to since, none of them wanted to fight. They just wanted to live peacefully and we couldn't do that here anymore."

Jared nods slowly and stays silent for a moment, thinking Jensen's words over. "It feels all wrong now. This place, I mean," he finally says.

"The wood nymphs were part of this forest. It was their home," Jensen says and rests a hand on Jared's back, stroking it up and down slowly. "Imagine a village completely devoid of people."

Jared bites down on his lower lip, chewing on it thoughtfully. The feeling he's getting, it's more than that. It's too much to be just his reaction to an abandoned settlement, to the decaying beauty of what once was. "I felt it the moment we set foot in the forest," he tries to explain, tugging at the end of his tunic nervously. "I don't know how to describe it, really."

"I felt it too. There's stuff we can pick up on that others can't," Jensen says and Jared leans into him, closing his eyes. "Your magic makes you a lot more sensitive to things."

"I don't," Jared says, shaking his head, and his voice comes out all choked, his throat tight.

"You don't what?"

"I don't have magic."

Jensen makes a confused noise. "Of course you do," he argues. "What are you talking about, Jared?"

Jared draws his legs up and leans forward, resting his chin on his knees. "Magic was banned from the kingdom, Jensen. You of all people should know that."

"But you're his son."

Jared turns his head, laying his cheek on his knee and looking up at Jensen. The fading light is casting shadows across his face, making him look almost threatening, and his eyes are bright in a way that's not at all human. Jared smiles up at him sadly. "Same rules applied to me as to everyone else," he says. "I haven't used magic since. I don't even know if it's still there."

"Jared," Jensen murmurs, and he sounds stricken, like Jared just told him some horrible news. He reaches out and runs his fingers through Jared's hair, tugging softly at knots as he brushes it back. "Magic is part of you."

"It used to be."

"No," Jensen says, shaking his head. "It's not something you can lose or give up on. You might be able to stop using it, but that doesn't mean it's gone away. It's in you."

Jared sighs and sits back up straight, and Jensen's hand falls away. Jared misses his touch instantly, and he scoots a little closer. It's cooling down fast, and Jensen's body is radiating heat as Jared leans into him. 

"I wouldn't know how to use it anyway," he admits. "And my father would freak out. After what happened to my mother..."

"Jared, your mother was a very capable witch," Jensen starts and Jared nearly flinches. Nobody has called her that in years and sometimes he wonders if they've repressed it far enough to have forgotten who his mother really was. Who Jared really is. 

Most people never knew about him. He only started to show signs of possessing magic a year or so before his mother passed away and his abilities never fully developed. But there are people at court, people close to his family, who knew. Jared knows they must remember, but nobody ever talks about it and sometimes Jared had started to wonder if it was really just a figment of his imagination.

Jensen sighs. "What happened was tragic, but banning magic does not make the world a safer place. I mean, look at creatures like me — magic is part of us and we can't live without it. And it's not good for you either."

Jared presses his lips together and shrugs. In all honesty, it's been too long for him to really remember what it felt like using magic or to tell if he misses it. His mother had just started teaching him things and Jared doubts he'd still be able to use it if he tried now. Sometimes, he thinks he feels it, like something nagging at the back of mind, but without his mother he had no one to ask, no one to teach him, and all books on magic, all of his mother's books, had vanished after her death. Jared suspects his father had them destroyed. They'd never really talked about it — hell, the only time he'd brought up the fact that Jared possessed magic after his mother's death was when he told him he wasn't allowed to use it, that he should just forget about it.

It became a thing that was swept under the rug, never to be spoken of. As far as most people in the city are concerned, his mother's magic died with her and wasn't passed on to either of her children. 

Jared heaves a breath and pulls away from Jensen slowly, his mind still reeling. "Let's get back to camp," he suggests, and Jensen doesn't look happy about it, but he nods.

+

Jared wakes up the next morning with an aching back. He thinks it's probably a result from both the hard ground and the tension inside of him. He rolls his shoulders, biting down a wince, and hopes they'll get away from this place quickly.

"You okay?" Jensen asks, and Jared gives him a tight smile.

"Fine," he says. "A little tense, is all."

Jensen doesn't look convinced and Jared catches him stuffing a few of his things into his own backpack as they pack up later. He pretends not to notice, too grateful to complain about it.

They leave the forest behind, and though Jared feels some of the tension leave his body the farther away they get, he still feels off. He has the knowledge now, the undeniable proof of what his father's law did, and it kills him. It doesn't help that it's a lot warmer that day, the sun beating down on them, and Jared is sweating and aching. At least the area they're in is relatively flat, the dry grass and hard ground making it easy to walk on. 

They reach Northfern, a small town with farms scattered around it, by early afternoon, but they're all exhausted enough to agree to stay for the night. There's a small marketplace where a handful of people are selling things, and they stock up for the next few days of their journey, buying bread, cheese, and ham. Jared buys apples from an older woman, and they're small and too pale, not at all like the apples he's used to from court.

"The harvest hasn't been good in a few years," the woman tells him when Jared hands over a coin. 

"In years?" Jared asks, and the woman shrugs.

"The earth isn't as fertile anymore and the weather has been too inconsistent," she explains. "There's been a few horrible storms that destroyed our crops and plants, but there hasn't been enough rain otherwise."

"But it used to be different?" Jared asks, frowning as he thinks about the empty, dry land they passed through all day. 

"It was, once. But that was a while ago now," the woman replies and smiles sadly as Jared takes the apples. "Have a good-day, sir."

"You too," Jared replies, and hurries back to meet the others. 

The inn they stay at is smaller than the one in Farnworth, really just a tavern with a few rooms upstairs. They have dinner down in the tavern and then Danneel and Jeff get up to mingle with the locals, while Genevieve heads up to bed. Jared stays at their table, his back aching even more than it did that morning, so the last thing he feels like doing is walking around. 

"You can go, have fun," Jared tells Jensen, nudging him with his knee a little.

"I'm good," Jensen replies, taking a swig from his ale. "How are you? How's your back?"

"Fine," Jared lies and Jensen laughs.

"No, it's not," he says. "You're a horrible liar. Still."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jared shoots back, but then he turns to glare at him a little too sharply and pain shoots up his shoulder, making him wince.

"Fine, huh?" Jensen asks, and Jared sticks his tongue out. Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees Danneel and Jeff coming back to their table and he turns to raise his mug at them when he notices both of them looking rather grim.

"What's going on?" Jared asks.

Danneel leans forward. "There's a dragon hunter here," she says, voice low. "Tall guy with a beard, by the bar. He's passing through and staying in one of the rooms upstairs."

"Are you sure?" Jensen interjects. 

Danneel nods. "We were talking to him, just chatting really. He told us himself," she says.

"Shit," Jensen hisses, and Jared feels a little sick to his stomach. He's heard of dragon hunters, sure, but they're outlawed in all neighboring kingdoms. Dragons are hunted in countries far, far north, but he doesn't understand what a dragon hunter would be doing here, in his father's kingdom. 

"We should be fine," Jeff says. "We told him we're with the king's guard and nobody in their right mind would ever suspect we're traveling with a dragon. I still think we better head to bed soon and not draw any attention to ourselves."

"You told him we're with the king? You call that not drawing attention to us?" Jensen hisses, frowning.

"To you," Jeff corrects.

"Well, I think it's more important that we don't draw attention to _Jared_ ," Jensen argues, and Jared lays a hand on his arm.

"Jen, he just said we're with the guard. It's fine," Jared says. "What I want to know is what a dragon hunter is doing here anyway. Dragons are not allowed to be killed in our kingdom."

Jensen shakes his head. "We're banned, Jared."

"That's not the same as letting you be hunted," Jared argues. "My father wouldn't allow that to happen."

"Officially," Jensen says and Jared feels like he's been slapped. 

"No," he says, shaking his head, because what Jensen is implying can't be true.

Jensen sighs. "Jared--"

"No," Jared repeats. "Tell me you're kidding. It's against the law to just kill dragons. It always has been."

"Maybe. But I've heard about a few dragons being killed in the kingdom over the past few years and while it may not be officially condoned, as far as I know nothing has been done against it."

"Are you saying my father is secretly allowing it?" Jared asks, and Jensen shrugs.

"I'm saying he's turning a blind eye to it," he says. "Your father wanted us gone. He may not have outright allowed us to be hunted, but it's still happening."

"And you came here anyway? Are you insane?" Jared thinks he's going to throw up. The thought of something happening to Jensen, especially when the only reason he's putting himself in danger is because he wants to help Jared – help his father – is too much. As much as the idea pains him, he suddenly wants nothing more than to send Jensen away again, to where it's safe.

"Jared, it's not like that. Most of us left the kingdom, so dragon hunters don't really come here looking for dragons," Jensen reassures. "From what I know, occasionally a hunter comes here following up specific hints, or they're just travelers passing through, but it's very, very rare. I'm not in danger just by being here as long as I'm careful."

"You're awfully calm about this whole thing," Jared mutters, glaring at him, and Jensen sighs.

"I'm not. Believe me, I want to go over there and rip the guy's head off. But that's not going to do us any good. We need to keep our heads down," Jensen says and gives him a pointed look. "And that means staying calm. Got it?"

Jared huffs, but nods even though he's anything but happy about it. 

"Come on, let's head to bed," Jensen suggests, resting his hand on Jared's arm. "Jeff, Danneel. I think it would be best if you stay down here a little longer; it might look a bit suspicious if we all head upstairs at the same time."

"Be careful, okay?" Jared adds, looking at Jeff imploringly.

"Don't worry. Go upstairs, get some sleep, and we'll head off tomorrow morning," Jeff replies. 

Jared lets Jensen pull him up and lead him up the stairs. The inn only has a handful of rooms and only three were empty when they arrived, so Jensen and he are sharing a room for the night. Jared was secretly glad about it when they were shown the rooms, because Jensen would have slept in his anyway and this way, at least, he has a bed. 

As they enter the small room, though, Jared realizes that it means the dragon hunter is probably in one of the other rooms, that he's going to be sleeping only a few feet away from Jensen and the thought makes him shudder.

He sits down on one of the two small beds and rotates his shoulders, trying to loosen the muscles a little, but he's tense with worry and exhaustion.

"Take off your shirt," Jensen says, voice soft. Jared freezes.

"What?" he asks, and Jensen gives him a smile, kneeling down by his backpack and rooting around in it. Jared watches him, unsure what is happening, and Jensen pulls out a small pot, holding it up triumphantly.

"It'll help with your back," he says, and Jared flushes when comprehension dawns on him.

"Right," he mumbles, and starts tugging at his tunic. He strips out of it clumsily and then pulls off the shirt he's wearing underneath, his shoulders screaming in protest. He tries not to feel weird about being half-naked in front of Jensen like this, because it shouldn't be a big deal. Except, seconds ago Jared thought Jensen was suggesting something else entirely and it's hard not to think about it now. Jensen is gorgeous and he's _Jensen_. The thought makes Jared's stomach swoop hotly.

"What is that?" he asks instead, nodding at the pot in Jensen's hand as Jensen sits down behind him.

"A salve my mother makes," he says. "There are different herbs in here, and ground up dragon scales."

"Scales?" Jared repeats, and Jensen chuckles.

"Don't worry, she didn't hurt a dragon to get them. Obviously," he says, and unscrews the pot. "Where does it hurt?"

"Uh, left shoulder and then down to my lower back."

"Okay," Jensen mumbles and Jared flinches a little at the first touch of his fingers, slick and cold with the salve. Soon after, Jared's skin starts to feel warm, the pain ebbing away as Jensen slowly rubs in the salve. He hangs his head, muscles relaxing, and bites back a soft groan when Jensen's hand strokes down his back.

Jensen laughs softly. "You're like a puppy getting his head scratched," he says and slaps his side playfully, pulling away.

"So you're saying I'm adorable?" Jared asks, and Jensen snorts. 

"Go to bed, your Majesty," he teases and gets up. Jared turns his head, watching him carefully through lowered lashes. 

He considers washing up, or at least putting on a shirt again, but he feels too mellow to do much more than crawl up onto the bed and under the blanket. His back is tingling, the ache has noticeably lessened already, and he closes his eyes and tries not to think about the dragon hunter downstairs, so close to Jensen, or the way it felt to have Jensen's hands on his naked skin.


	3. Chapter 3

Jared is starting to feel better the farther they get away from Northfern the next day, and he feels a little bitter when he realizes it's the second time this is happening in two days. He's not sure what he expected when they set off—he certainly didn't think their journey would be fun, or easy – but he's starting to realize the world outside the city isn't what he was expecting. 

It's even warmer than it had been the previous day and the land is flat and open, offering neither shade nor reprieve. They have to take more breaks than they did yesterday, stopping for water and a few minutes of rest.

"It makes little sense to walk very far today," Jeff says around noon, when they're settling down for a longer break.

"Is there some place we can stay close by?" Jared asks, and Jeff is already pulling out the map, spreading the parchment out on the ground. Jared moves closer, finger hovering over the small place where _Northfern_ is written in deep black ink. 

"There's a village here we could reach within a couple of hours," Jeff says, pointing to a name on the map. "But we'd have to get completely off course."

"And walk all the way back tomorrow?" Jensen asks, shaking his head. "It might get even hotter in the next few days for all we know. We'll only lose time."

"Jensen is right," Danneel agrees, looking at the map from across Jared. She points to a crude drawing off a handful of trees. "There's a forest there. It doesn't look too far."

"Hmm, three hours, maybe four in this weather," Jeff muses. "We still have to walk through the heat, but at least we'd have some shelter for the night."

"I'll take it," Genevieve says, stretching her arms over her head. She has her hair tied to the side, cloth wrapped around it all the way down and her usually dark tunics have been exchanged for a light, beige one. She looks a little like a normal girl from the country side now, no traces of a royal guard left other than the sword lying next to her on the ground. Jared imagines this is what she was like when she was younger, back in the village she grew up in, and he wonders what her life would have been like if she'd never joined the royal guard. She probably would be married by now, have a kid or two, and a poor husband she'd boss around. The thought makes Jared snort.

"What?" Jensen murmurs, and Jared turns his head to find him looking at him.

"Nothing. Just thinking," he explains and Jensen frowns, handing him his water skin.

"You need to drink more in this heat," he says, and Jared rolls his eyes at him, but obediently takes a few sips.

"Danneel was totally right," Genevieve says a little while later after they've set off again.

Jared adjusts the straps of his bag, trying to get some of the weight off his left shoulder. It's not nearly as bad as it was the day before, but it still aches a little even though Jared suspects Jensen is carrying about half of his things by now. "About?"

"Jensen and the whole protective, possessive dragon thing," Genevieve explains with a shrug. "I tried to pay attention to the way he is with you. It's a bit like a cat with their young, you know? If he could, he'd probably carry you around by the scruff of your neck just to keep you out of trouble, too. He'd do anything to keep you safe, Jared."

"You're ridiculous," Jared says and pulls at Genevieve's braid. "And that's a completely untrue comparison."

"Yeah, 'cause that's not how things are between you, right?" Genevieve asks with a smirk and Jared frowns.

"I have no idea what you're insinuating now," Jared replies. "You and Danneel need to find something better to pass the time than analyzing mine and Jensen's friendship. Go bother Jeff or something."

Genevieve snickers and Jared pushes her, making her stumble a little. In retaliation she grabs his wrist and twists his arm behind his back, making him yelp.

"Children," Jeff chides loudly, and Jared tries to laugh through the pain shooting up his arm. His eyes find Jensen, who is watching him and Genevieve with a frown, clearly trying to stop himself from interfering, hands curled into fists by his side.

Jared twists free from Genevieve's grip, using his height and weight to wrestle her into a headlock, rubbing the top of her head and tousling her hair.

"Jared, you asshole!" she exclaims. "I will murder you in your sleep!"

Jared lets go of her, sticking out his tongue. "You'd have to get past a gigantic dragon first," he teases and dances off to Jensen's side, smiling down at him widely. "Right? You'd protect me."

Jensen looks at him and snorts, amused. "Always," he says fondly. "Moron."

Jared ignores the smug, satisfied grin Genevieve shoots him.

+

They reach the forest less than four hours later, all of them sweaty and smelling less than their best. They'd found a small stream to refill their water skins on the way, but it hadn't been big enough to wash up other than splash a little water on their faces, and Jared feels a little disgusting. Baths are one thing he's never going to take for granted again.

"I don't think you should change tonight," Jared says after dinner, tossing a small twig into the fire that's still roaring. It's warm so none of them are sitting too close by, but it'll get colder – especially in the shade of the trees – once it's dark.

"Jared," Jensen sighs.

"We didn't make it very far today and we don't know where the dragon hunter was off to," Jared argues. "He might be nearby."

"We would have noticed him if he was taking the same path," Jensen says, and Jared huffs.

"Well, he might have taken a different one," he says. "Please, Jensen? I'm going to sleep a lot better if I don't have to worry about that."

"I think he's right, Jensen," Jeff chimes in and Jared shoots him a grateful look. "It's better to be safe than sorry."

"Fine," Jensen agrees, though he doesn't look happy about it. 

It's weird lying down on the hard, earthy ground that night and not feeling Jensen's wing settle over him. After just a few nights sleeping outside, Jared shouldn't already be that used to it, but he misses it. Jensen is sleeping next to him, but there's a good four feet of space between them and Jared wants nothing more than to scoot closer.

The forest seems more threatening than any other place they've slept in so far, apart from the night before with the threat of the dragon hunter. There's an owl that keeps hooting, echoing through the forest, and Jared tenses every time he hears the sound of twigs breaking. Under Jensen's wing, the sounds of the forest always seemed so much more muted and he was never worried about something getting to them, wasn't worried about wild animals.

Jared tosses and turns, and it takes forever until he finally falls into a restless sleep.

He wakes up to a hand on his shoulder, shaking him softly. It's still dark, the fire having died down completely, and Jared blinks. "Wha--," he starts, but he's shushed before he can fully form the word.

"There's someone here," Jensen says, voice hushed. His hand tightens on Jared's shoulder. 

"Someone?" Jared asks, and thinks, _the dragon hunter_. He blinks around the darkness, trying to make something out, but can't see any shapes. He hears the others around them move.

"Do you have a weapon?" Jensen asks. "I can sense six people, so they outnumber us a little."

"I have my dagger," Jared murmurs, hand searching the space next to him blindly until his fingers find the hilt. He also has his knife, still tied around his thigh in its leather sheath. "Jensen, is it...?"

"No, I don't think so," Jensen whispers. "Stay close to me, okay? I won't let anyone get by."

Jared nods, moving to reach out for Jensen, to touch him, but Jensen gets up suddenly. Jared scrambles up to follow, pressing his body against Jensen's side. He's tense, focused on something in the darkness.

"Jensen," Jared murmurs, just as someone crashes through the line of trees Jensen was facing.

Within seconds, all hell breaks loose as more people filter into the small clearing. One guy jumps at him and Jared slashes with his dagger, feeling a flash of satisfaction when he hears a grunt of pain. The guy comes at him again though. Jared gets in a few more swipes, but the guy is quick on his feet and Jared can't see well enough to launch any thought-out attacks. A couple of blows from the guy land on him, too, and Jared curses when his dagger is knocked out of his hand and quickly gropes for his knife, pulling it out. 

All around him, there's panting and cursing and the thudding of fists and weapons hitting their targets. Jared can't make out how the others are faring, so he concentrates on the guy in front of him.

"Come on, you bastard," he mutters, looking at the dark shape and trying to anticipate his next move.

There's something glinting in the moonlight filtering in through the branches of the trees, and Jared realizes the guy has a weapon, too. It must be his dagger, longer and sharper than Jared's knife. Jared tightens his grip on the hilt; it feels warm in his palm, reassuring because he's held it a million times.

The guy jumps at him with a low, deep cry, but before Jared can react he's suddenly pushed out of the way. There's a growl, deeper and louder and so much more threatening than the sound that had emanated from Jared's opponent.

Jensen.

For a moment, the two grapple and Jared wants to step in, do something, but they're moving too much and in the darkness he's more likely to hurt Jensen as the other guy. 

He looks around, trying to see if anyone else is coming at them; the rest of the fighting seems to take place further away from them and it's too dark for him to see anything but shadowy figures.

There's a thud, and Jared realizes Jensen and his opponent connected with a tree, one of them backed up. 

"Jensen," he calls out. He's about to take a step forward, but he stumbles back instead when a gust of wind blows through the clearing, along with a familiar whooshing sound. It's followed by the sound of tree trunks breaking, the loud thud as they are forced down and aside to make room for the huge body of a dragon.

The guy Jensen was just fighting lets out a terrified scream, and Jared squints at the huge, dark shape in front of him. 

In the darkness, Jensen looks even more intimidating and terrifying: a dark, bulky body as tall as the trees around them. Jensen turns his head and his eyes, bright in the darkness, fix on Jared, and then he throws his head back and roars so loudly the ground shakes. Birds are screeching, fleeing, but the others have fallen silent, all fighting stopped.

Jensen's tail whips over the ground, scattering dry leaves and twigs, and curls around Jared's feet. He roars again, and as he lowers his head, moonlight glinting off his scales, Jared thinks he's never seen anything more beautiful.

Jared's former opponent lets out a whimper, barely audible over Jensen's loud breathing, and Jared realizes the man is pleading with Jensen, 'don't' and 'please' being stuttered out again and again. 

_He'd do anything to keep you safe, Jared_. Genevieve's words come back to him, and Jared bites down on his lower lip, taking a few steps forward. He presses up against Jensen's side, lays his hand and cheek against the scales there. Jensen's tail moves with him, curling around Jared, and Jared smiles.

"Let him go," he murmurs. "He didn't really hurt me, Jensen. Just let him go; I think you already punished him enough. He'll have nightmares about you for the rest of his life."

Jensen snorts, but Jared knows he'll acquiesce to his plea.

+

In the darkness, they gather their things and leave once Jensen has turned back into his human form. Nobody seems to be seriously injured beyond some bruises and cuts, but they'll need to wait until dawn to be able to see the full damage.

They set off as quickly as possible. Jensen, while chasing their attackers off, made a whole lot of noise and the dragon hunter might still be close by.

"They must have seen the fire. We were too close to the edge of the forest," Jeff muses as they break through the forest.

"Well, I doubt they'll try to raid any travelers again anytime soon," Genevieve replies and Jared's a bit surprised to note a hint of amusement in her voice. Walking close by Jensen's side, he fumbles for his hand in the darkness and twines their fingers together. Jensen gives his hand a squeeze and neither of them lets go until dawn breaks.

+

As soon as it's light enough, they take a break. Danneel has an impressive bruise on her jaw and Jeff has a cut on his arm that needs to be wrapped up, but they're okay. A few small cuts and bruises, but nothing looks too serious.

Jensen gets the salve out from between his things, tossing it to Jeff, and then turns to Jared with a serious expression.

"Let me look at your stomach," he says, and Jared huffs.

"I'm okay," he says, shaking his head. "Maybe a bruise or two, but it barely even hurts."

"Then there's no harm in letting me take a quick look, right?" Jensen argues, raising an eyebrow. The challenge is clear in his voice. If Jared won't let Jensen look, it only gives Jensen reason to think that he's hiding something.

Jared sighs and unfastens his cloak, grumbling, "Has anyone ever told you how annoying you are?"

"This little runt screamed it at the top of his lungs through the whole castle once, because I refused to let him fly around on my back," Jensen replies easily. Jared can't see the other three, facing away from them, but he hears them chuckle quietly. Jared glares at Jensen and takes off his tunic as well.

There's a lewd whistle and Jared twists his head around to find Genevieve grinning and waggling her eyebrows. She's kneeling on the ground next to Jeff, bandaging his arm. "Beheading, remember?" Jared says darkly.

"Hold still, Jared," Jensen chides, pushing his shirt up to his chest. 

"She started it," Jared says and Jensen gives him a disbelieving look before paying attention to the area of skin he just revealed. There's a bruise on Jared's side, starting right under his ribs. Jensen trails his fingers over it softly at first, before pressing more firmly against the edge of the discolored skin, making Jared hiss.

"I thought you said it didn't hurt?" Jensen asks, and Jared rolls his eyes.

"Well, it does when you're _poking_ it. It's what bruises do."

Jensen huffs, clearly exasperated, and moves his hand up, feeling Jared's ribs. "I don't think anything is broken."

"I could have told you that, too," Jared notes.

"Let's put some salve on it," Jensen says, and he's obviously ignoring Jared's comment. He makes a move to get past Jared, the movement making his cloak shift, revealing his arm for a short moment.

"What--" Jared grabs Jensen's wrist, stopping him.

"What's wrong?" Jensen asks, looking at him with slightly surprised, concerned eyes. "Does something hurt?"

"Your arm," Jared says, pushing the cloak aside. The sleeve of Jensen's gray tunic is dark with blood and there's a cut in the fabric. "You're hurt."

"It's nothing," Jensen says softly. For a moment his gaze moves over Jared's shoulder and he shakes his head again, presumably addressing the others now. "It's nothing."

"But," Jared tries and Jensen gives him a fond look.

"Jared," he murmurs and brings his free hand up, cupping Jared's neck. "Dragon, remember? It'll be completely healed in a couple of hours."

"There's blood."

Jensen snorts, lips turned up into a smile. "Well, I'm not completely invincible," he mocks, "but a little cut like that isn't going to hurt me."

Jared isn't completely convinced, because whatever weapon did it must have been sharp enough to cut through Jensen's tunic and cause a wound that bled profusely. 

Jensen sighs. "Fine. Get some water and I'll wash the blood off, so you can see that the cut's probably already mostly healed by now," he suggests, and Jared knows Jensen is only humoring him, but he gets his water skin anyway and a piece of cloth originally wrapped around the bread they bought at the market.

Jensen takes off his cloak and pushes the sleeve of his tunic up, while Jared quickly gets dressed again. Jensen is about to pour water directly over his wound when Jared quickly grabs the water skin from him, wets the cloth and carefully starts wiping away the blood. The skin underneath is fine; there's a thin, pink line that looks a little tender, but the cut isn't even visible anymore.

"See?" Jensen says and Jared shrugs. 

"Your tunic is ruined," he says instead, sniffling, and Jensen cuffs him over the head.

+

They spend more and more time outside over the next few nights. The further north they travel, the less populated the areas become. A lot of the landscape looks desolate and the few farms and clustering of houses—few and far between to begin with—are either abandoned or look rundown.

The one good thing about the unpopulated areas is that Jensen feels comfortable enough to change and fly for a bit when he's absolutely sure there's nobody around for miles. He rarely strays far from them, usually flying circles around them and twirling in loops that have even Genevieve laughing as she watches him.

Sometimes, though, he flies a little farther to see what's ahead. It's on one those occasions, with dark clouds gathering at the horizon and the wind picking up suddenly, that Jared watches the sky for Jensen with worry. He's nothing but a little dark spot in the distance, and Jared knows Jensen can probably deal with the approaching storm better than the rest of them, but he can't help but worry a little. 

He feels relieved when he sees Jensen getting bigger, finally returning to them.

"How bad does it look?" Jeff asks, once Jensen is back on the ground and changed back into his human form.

"Pretty bad," Jensen says with a frown, tugging his cloak into place again. "The storm is approaching fast. We have maybe half an hour, tops, before it reaches us, and it's a big one."

"So we need to find shelter, fast," Danneel concludes. "Did you see a place?"

Jensen purses his lips. "Not close enough that we could get there in time," he says. 

"What about somewhere closer to the river?" Genevieve asks, pointing towards the river to their right, glistening darkly in the distance. They've been walking alongside it for the past few miles, and had broken for lunch and refilled their water skins at one of its little branches. "There might be some rocks and overhangs there."

"The river is going to overflow before the night is over," Danneel says, her voice full of conviction, and Jared knows it must be something she has seen.

"There are some rock formations closer to the forest there," Jensen says, pointing to the left. "We might not reach them before the storm starts and I'm not sure if they'll offer any shelter, but it's better than nothing."

"Let's not waste time then," Jared suggests, nodding. 

They keep walking. The sky is getting progressively darker, the wind stronger, gusts blowing dust and dirt into their faces. Jared ties his hair back with a small string of leather he borrows from Genevieve so it won't keep getting whipped into his face. 

Eventually it starts raining, first a little and then more and more. The ground, previously so dry, quickly becomes wet and soggy. Jensen sticks close to Jared, grabbing his arm to steady him the second Jared so much as slides a little on the slippery ground. Danneel completely loses her balance once and almost ends up flat on the ground, but Jeff manages to catch her just in time.

"We should be getting close," Jensen yells over the rushing rain, head ducked down, and his hand finds Jared. He twines their fingers together and keeps pushing forward. His hand is warm and Jared holds on to him, keeping his head down as they trudge on. 

By the time they reach the small hills and rocks that rise before turning into thick forest, all of them are not only soaking wet, but covered in mud and dirt. It takes them another twenty minutes before they find a small overhang that's big enough to offer them shelter. 

"Let's hope there are some clothes that are still dry at the bottom of our packs," Jared mutters, glancing at Genevieve whose teeth are chattering, her dark hair plastered to her skull and tunic sticking close to her skin. She looks even smaller than usual, her skin pale, and Jared really hopes they won't all be sick tomorrow. He seriously wouldn't be surprised, though.

Trembling, Jared paws through his backpack until he finds clothes that are not exactly dry, but better than what he's wearing. He starts stripping out of his wet clothes, ignoring the others, and Jensen lets out a short, disgruntled noise. Jared looks at him, eyebrows quirked, and Jensen stays quiet. He moves between Jared and the others, though, quite clearly trying to shield him from their eyes.

Jared wants to say something, but Jensen is looking tense, glowering at him, so he holds back any words that come to him. Instead he ducks his head down, biting back a smile, and finishes getting dressed quickly. 

He feels a little better in the change of clothes, though he's still freezing and the short ponytail at the nape of his neck is dripping cold drops of water down his back. 

They all sit down pressed together, because the space is small and the body heat helps. Jensen is pressed flush against Jared's side and his arm is behind Jared, thumb rubbing the small of his back.

"You feeling okay?" Jensen murmurs as they're eating their last provisions, and Jared swallows down stale bread and nods.

"Fine. A bit cold," he says, and Jensen shifts even closer if possible. Jared can't help the way his lips twitch up into a small smile, his stomach fluttering with nerves, and can't deny how much he likes this. He's been trying hard not to think about it too much, but he likes Jensen being so close, touching him. More than that, he _craves_ it, and Jared is pretty sure he knows what it means. What he doesn't know, at all, is what he should do about it. _If_ he should do anything about it.

Jensen makes a soft humming noise and keeps stroking Jared's back.

They decide to go to sleep not much later, to get as much rest as they can. Jensen changes forms, his body blocking the entrance and shielding them from the rain that's still coming down hard. Jared curls up against his side, under his wing, and runs his hand down Jensen's flank.

"You're going to get wet," Jared murmurs and rests his forehead against the smooth, warm scales.

Jensen makes a soft grumbling sound that Jared feels against him.

"You should change, sleep in here with us," he tries again. "You're going to get cold and sick."

"Shh. Get some sleep, precious," Jensen says, and it's his voice, only so much rumblier and deep. Jared startles, but the cave is quiet, the others lying silently and peacefully. 

"Jensen?" he whispers and Jensen just makes a familiar, rumbling sound, and he curls around Jared even more. His snout nudges the top of Jared's head, and Jared, despite the confusion he feels, shifts a little closer.

"You spoke," he murmurs accusingly.

"Sleep," he hears, and Jared presses his hand against Jensen's side once again.

"We're talking about this tomorrow," he says softly, and let's his eyes slide close.

+

Jared has a hard time catching Jensen by himself the next morning, the others always close by, and he wonders if it's a coincidence or if Jensen is trying to put off the conversation Jared is dying to have. He doesn't want to bring it up while the others can overhear them though, because what happened last night feels too private, something Jared wants to keep to himself.

The storm has blown over by the time they set off, but the ground is muddy and squishy, and walking is arduous. Jensen doesn't seem to be having as much of a problem with it as the rest of them, walking a few feet ahead with Jeff, who's obviously struggling to keep up as they're talking.

Genevieve and Danneel are flanking Jared's side and all three of them keep reaching out for each other to steady themselves.

"This sucks so much," Jared mutters when he nearly slips again, and the other two make noises of agreement.

"Yeah. Why did we ever think getting the gem back was a good idea?" Genevieve grumbles, fingers digging almost painfully into Jared's arm. "We could be home right now. It'd be nice not having to worry about where we're sleeping tonight, having a warm bed and food on the table."

"Mmm, yeah," Jared agrees. "You know what I want to do right now? I wanna lie in the sun in the orchard. Sneak some apples, or maybe a fresh pastry from the kitchen."

"Yeah," Genevieve says, sounding dreamy. "We haven't done that in years."

"Why not?" Danneel asks. "It sounds amazing. Almost makes me wish I lived at court, too."

Genevieve shrugs. "We technically weren't allowed to be in the orchard by ourselves. We always had to sneak in, but we knew a few ways in that weren't heavily guarded," she explains. "Seems there are a lot more guards now though. I think it's because the harvest hasn't been as good as it used to be, so security got a lot tighter. It's nearly impossible to get past the guards these days."

"Even for the prince?" Danneel asks, amused, and Jared snorts.

"You'd be surprised how little it matters that I'm the king's son," he says, and he can't help the bitter tone, thinking back to the conversation with Jensen about his magic. He looks ahead, at Jensen, and finds him and Jeff closer than he thought. Jeff is watching them, a thoughtful look on his face.

"What?" he asks.

Jeff shakes his head. "It's nothing."

"Come on, don't lie to me. I know you better than you think, old man," Jared replies, smiling. "What's going on?"

Jeff sighs, "I'm just worried that none of it is a coincidence. There have been a lot of bad storms, yet few rain otherwise, and the harvests in the entire kingdom have been getting worse and worse."

"What do you think it is?" Genevieve asks, and Jared notices the way Jensen is listening closely, head cocked to the side. They're walking slower now, him and Jeff, and Genevieve, Danneel, and Jared catch up to them quickly.

"There are people who believe it's the magic that's missing," Jeff says, the tone of his voice hesitant, unsure.

"What do you mean?" Jared asks. It makes him think of the forest near Northfern, about how things had changed, and what Jensen had told him about the place feeling wrong without the wood nymphs there.

"Magic has been around since the beginning of mankind, and our people have always used it," Jeff says. "Some would say that it's part of the land, just like the creatures and plants, so without it there's been an imbalance. There are people in this kingdom who think it's causing a rift between us and the land." 

Jared frowns. "Does my father know?" 

"Jared." 

"Does he?" 

Jeff frowns. “It's been brought to his attention."

"And he doesn't care?" Jared asks. "This is something that should be looked into, right? I mean, if it's true, if we need magic--"

"We don't know if it's true yet," Jeff interjects. "It might just be one of those theories people come up with when things aren't going well."

"Still," Jared insists, and Jeff sighs.

"I agree, Jared," he concedes. "But your father sees things differently. It doesn't help that the changes haven't been that noticeable in the city. Out in the country where people depend on farming, on the _land_ , things have been getting rougher and rougher over the last few years. Your father hasn't seen the extent of things yet, and I'm afraid that until he does he won't take the rumors seriously." 

Jared feels a flare of anger at that, and he's having a hard time believing what he's hearing. He hasn't always agreed with everything his father did, but he's always trusted him to do what was best for the kingdom. It hurts Jared to see just how much the kingdom has been suffering, how bad things really are. And the worst of it is that he realizes he's been just as clueless, just as ignorant, as his father. "He should see them, then," he bursts out. "He's not just responsible for the city, but the whole kingdom!" 

"Jared," Genevieve tries, her voice calm and soft, but Jared shakes his head. 

"Don't even try to defend him, Gen," he warns and Genevieve looks at him with hurt eyes, but keeps quiet.

+

"Want to tell me what you're so deep in thought about?" Jensen asks, sitting down next to Jared on the flat rock. He hands Jared a rabbit leg, a little charred from the fire, and then licks his fingers when Jared takes it and makes a face.

"Would have been better raw," he mutters, and Jared grimaces.

"Gross," he says, and Jensen laughs.

"Hey, I don't judge you for your weird human ticks either." He nudges Jared. "Eat."

Jared takes a small bite off the rabbit and chews slowly. "Do you think," he starts after he's swallowed the first bite, "that maybe it'd be better if we didn't get the gem back?"

It's a thought that crossed his mind a couple of hours ago, while he was brooding over everything Jeff had revealed.

He looks at Jensen carefully for his reaction, not sure if he's hoping Jensen will agree or disagree with him. He can't help thinking that it might be better if they don't find the gem, but then what would they have? A crumbling kingdom, vulnerable and open to attacks?

"Why would you say that?" Jensen asks softly.

Jared shrugs and sighs. "I just keep thinking about what my father's laws have done to the country. Maybe we shouldn't be the ones ruling the kingdom; maybe it'd be better off without us."

"Don't say that, Jared," Jensen says, shaking his head. "Your father has made many mistakes, but I, for one, am not trying to get the stone back to strengthen _his_ power. I'm here because I believe in you and the future you can give this kingdom."

"I was just as ignorant about all of this as he was," Jared says, and Jensen gives him a soft smile, brushing a strand of hair out of Jared's eyes. 

"Exactly. _Was_. Now you're not," he says. "And when your time to rule comes, you'll do a lot better."

"What if I don't?"

"Then you have people in your life who'll remind you," Jensen says with a grin, nodding at the others sitting a good twenty feet away from them by the fire. "I'm sure Genevieve is very capable of slapping some sense into you."

Jared snorts. "Yeah," he says and takes another bite of the rabbit, feeling a bit better already. He hopes Jensen is right, that he's going to live up to those expectations his friends obviously have for him. "Did you know, too? About all the stuff Jeff said earlier."

Jensen shifts and frowns, looking thoughtful. "Jeff mentioned some stuff the last few times I saw him," he admits. "He didn't tell my family any details... hell, I wasn't even aware that you weren't using magic, Jared. There's a lot of stuff I didn't know. I'm only now starting to see how many problems there are here."

"I don't get why Jeff didn't tell me about it."

Jensen heaves a sigh and puts his arm behind Jared, just barely brushing against him. "He's in a complicated situation, Jay. He might not approve of your father's actions and behavior, but he's still his advisor and he's loyal to him. You'll have to ask him, but I can imagine that it's not easy trying to do what's best for the country and for the king at the same time."

"Yeah, but keeping me in the dark about stuff like that," Jared says, shaking his head. "You think that was okay? I'm going to be king one day and I need to know these things. Right now, I feel like I don't have a clue about what's actually going on in the kingdom. How am I supposed to be a better ruler than my father if I'm just as blind to the problems?"

"I'm sure Jeff would have talked to you about it eventually. He told you he's not even sure if it's the magic that's the problem, anyway," Jensen says. "Look, Jared, I don't know everything that is going on, or what Jeff knows or doesn't know. But he's a smart man, and I'm sure he's been doing what he believes is the right thing. And you're not the king yet – as far as I know, he's tried talking to your father, but the king believes he knows what he's doing. Unless there's some hard proof that will get through to your father, I fear there's not much we can do until the day someone else is in charge." 

"Me." 

"You," Jensen agrees. He leans in and kisses Jared's temple softly, lips brushing warmly against Jared's skin. "You're smart and your heart is in the right place. But sometimes you have to be patient and choose your battles carefully, precious." 

Jared ducks his head and smiles softly. "You called me that last night." 

"I did. And you are: precious, that is," Jensen replies and Jared feels his face heat up. He hopes he's not actually blushing, that Jensen can't see the effect he's having on him. 

He clears his throat, desperate to deflect from his reaction. "I didn't know that you could talk when you're in your dragon form," he says. 

Jensen frowns and rubs a hand over his face. "It's not talking, exactly." 

"The others couldn't hear you, right?" 

"No." 

"Okay, so how does it work? I'm not sure I get it," Jared says.

"It's hard to explain. I guess the best way I can describe it is that it's like a mental connection. Dragons have it amongst our own kind and sometimes, we can have it with others as well. We were probably too young to form this kind of connection before, but we have it now. It allows me to communicate with you when I'm in my dragon form." 

"Why me?" Jared asks, his heart thumping in his chest. He can take a guess, but at the same time he doesn't want to jump to the wrong conclusions about them, about Jensen. The last thing he wants is to ruin the friendship they're rebuilding, but he's starting to see that there's something between them; something special. Jared's never really felt this way and it's a bit confusing and overwhelming, and yet it makes his heart race. 

He waits for Jensen to answer, forcing himself to breathe.

Jensen gives him a small smile. "Eat your food, my Lord." 

"Jensen," Jared scowls, and Jensen laughs softly. 

"It's a story for another time. Believe me. Right now we have other things to focus on and they'll require your complete attention."

Jared wants to protest, but Jensen looks at him pleadingly so he sends Jensen a final glare, but drops the issue. Jensen stays with him as Jared finishes his food, staring at the muddy, empty landscape that stretches out before them. 

The sun is setting at the horizon, glowing a deep, fiery orange, and Jared wishes he could enjoy it more. That he could just sit in comfortable silence with Jensen, enjoy the warmth of being pressed up against Jensen's side, but his mind is elsewhere.

He still feels completely caught off-guard by the things he's learned that day. Jared never thought to disobey his father or question his rules, even when he hadn't agreed with what his father was doing, and he feels a little foolish for his blind acceptance now. He remembers how his father, a few days after his mother's death, sat him down and told him that his magic was dangerous, dark, and that he shouldn't use it anymore. He was so frightened by it, by what happened to his mother, that he thought his father was asking him to do the right thing. He believed that magic was bad. And even when, over the years, he was tempted to use his magic, he never dared to do it. He wonders now if maybe he should have. If he should have confronted his father, tried to change his mind. 

Feeling restless suddenly, he stretches his legs and points to the forest behind them. "I'm going to go, you know, relieve myself," he mutters and gets up.

Jensen frowns up at him. "I can come," he suggests, and Jared rolls his eyes at him.

"You're not going to come watch me take a piss, Jensen," he says. "I'll survive, I promise."

"Fine," Jensen agrees, though Jared can tell he's reluctant to let Jared go off by himself. "Don't stray too far from the camp, okay?"

"Overprotective," Jared teases, and walks away before Jensen can argue. His feet make squelching noises on the soggy ground with each step he takes, the leather of his shoes caked with mud up to his ankles. 

He walks slowly, enjoying the few moments of solitude, and vanishes between the trees. He makes sure he's deep enough in the forest that the trees are shielding him from view of the others, but keeps his promise and doesn't go too far. He quickly undoes his breeches and takes care of his business.

Once he's done, he walks a little further, just ambling through the underbrush with no aim in sight, but he makes sure he can still see the flickering of the campfire through the trees. He lets his fingers trail against the bark of the trunks, brush through the bushes that spring up between them. Most of the plants aren't in good shape, withered yellow leaves mixed in with healthy green ones, and even those look a little pale. He remembers the woman in the market a few days ago, telling him it hasn't been raining enough and Jared can see proof of that all over the forest. Even after the storm, everything looks withered.

He bends down and runs a finger over a small fern, rain water clinging to his skin. He thinks about his mother, strolling through the gardens with him, always barefoot because she said she liked the way the earth felt under her feet, and showing him different plants. Kneeling down, Jared clears the wet leaves off the ground and places his hand flat upon it. It's damp and cold, and Jared doubts he'll feel anything, like his mother did. Even if Jensen says he couldn't lose his magic, Jared isn't sure it's still inside of him. He suddenly feels the urge to at least try, though. 

He breathes in deeply, tries to clear his mind and thinks of the things his mother showed him. She used to tell him magic was everywhere, and it was just a matter of grasping it, using it. Jared imagines the energy flowing through him, seeping out through his hand, and then the energy, strong and pulsing, in the ground beneath him the way she taught him. For a moment, he can't feel anything different but then he breathes in deeply and feels it. His magic. Weak, but still there. Jared keeps breathing calmly, trying to control what he's doing. It's then that he feels it; there's something in the ground under his palm, a small pulse of life, and he realizes it's a seed from one of the bushes or trees. He closes his eyes and concentrates on it, a smile forming on his lips.

"Grow," he whispers, more to himself than anything else. "Live."

He thinks he can feel it happen, feel the seed soak up his magic, the pulse he feels getting stronger, more definite, reaching out toward him. 

When he opens his eyes and pulls his hand away, there's a small sapling there, just barely pushing through the earthy ground. Jared stares at it, his chest feeling tight, and he sits back flat on his ass, unable to take his eyes off it.

A hot tear slides down his cheek suddenly, feeling completely overwhelmed by what he just did. This is what he's been denied for the past fifteen years, and he feels none of the anger he felt earlier, only a deep, gripping sadness.

+

Jensen is pacing when Jared breaks through the forest line. He stills when he sees Jared, arms crossed over his chest.

"I was about to come looking for you," he says when Jared gets closer, and his eyes travel over Jared's face, his body, like he's checking him for any sign of injury. "What took you so long?"

Jared pictures the tiny sapling, and he feels weird, exhausted almost. The sadness he felt earlier is still there, but knowing what he did, knowing the proof of what he can do is there in the forest now, makes him feel hopeful too, happy even. Somewhere deep inside of him his magic, the part of him that was always so strongly connected to his mother, is still alive.

"I think that's a story for another time," he repeats Jensen's words from earlier, and when Jensen frowns at him he just smiles.


	4. Chapter 4

Jared wants to jump with joy when they finally make it to a village three days later. The Red Mountain is looming in the distance, only a few days' worth of travel away now, and it's put all of them in a weird mood, so Jared thinks it'll be nice to sleep in a warm bed and have a decent supper one more time. They're all exhausted and dirty, the mud that covered their shoes and clothes having dried and left everything they owned covered in brown, fine dust. 

They find a small, but cozy inn to sleep in for the night. The inn is run by a young woman, barely older than Jared himself, with wavy blonde hair that falls past her shoulders. She introduces herself as Adrianne, a wide smile on her face as she greets them.

"I can run you a bath, too, but I charge extra for those. The water supply has been a bit short these past few months," she explains. 

Jared is about to tell her it doesn't matter, he just wants to feel clean again, when Jeff shakes his head next to him. "We're only going to get dirty when we're back on the road tomorrow anyway," he says. "We can wait until we find the next lake or stream."

"There's a small lake about half a day by foot from here," Adrianne tells them. 

"Fine," Jared grumbles and gives her a hopeful look. "Tell me you serve dinner soon, though."

"Not for a few hours," Adrianne says apologetically, but then winks at him conspiratorially. "But I'll see if I can put something together for you to tide you over."

"Oh thank you," Jared groans and Adrianne laughs, dimples appearing on her cheeks.

Not twenty minutes later, their belongings safely stored away in their rooms, they're sitting in the almost deserted tavern while Adrianne serves bowls of steaming soup and thickly buttered slices of bread.

"Left over from lunch," she explains.

"Thank you so much," Jared says, a bit too enthusiastically perhaps, but he's hungry and they're finally inside, dry and warm. Adrianne smiles and Jared thinks he sees a faint trace of a blush on her cheeks.

"Yeah, thank you," Jensen agrees from next to him, but his voice is cold and clipped, and Jared frowns when he sees him glowering.

"Not a problem," Adrianne assures them once more. "Let me know if you need anything else."

"We're fine," Jensen says, so pointedly that Adrianne looks surprised and leaves quickly.

"Jensen," Jared hisses. "Stop being so rude."

Jensen just huffs, and Jared looks helplessly at the others who are all trying to hide amused grins. Jared rolls his eyes at them and then kicks Jensen under the table, for good measure.

"Behave," he warns, and pulls his bowl of soup a little closer to him, picking up the spoon. The others start digging in, too, though Jensen seems reluctant and Genevieve is pushing the soup around in her bowl rather than eating it.

"Not hungry?" Jared asks, and Genevieve shrugs. 

"Tired. I think I just really want to lie down," she mumbles. Jared notices that she looks a little pale in the dim light of the inn. Danneel rests her hand on Genevieve's arm and frowns. 

"Maybe you should go upstairs then and rest. We can wake you up later for dinner." 

"Thanks." Genevieve nods and pushes her soup toward Jared. "Enjoy."

Jared grins widely at her. He finishes both his own and Genevieve's bowl in record time, mopping up the last of the soup with the bread. 

"This is so great," he says as he pops the last piece of bread into his mouth, and grins toothily at Jensen, who is frowning at him.

"She probably has a cook," he mutters.

"So?"

"So, she didn't make the soup," Jensen says with a sniff. "She might not even be able to cook."

Jeff ducks his head down and chuckles, and Danneel is hiding her grin behind her hand. Jared smirks and shakes his head, and Jensen grumbles something unpleasant under his breath.

+

Genevieve still looks a little pasty the next day, but she assures them she's okay to travel. Jared can tell it's taking a lot out of her though; she's walking noticeably slower and within a few hours she's sweating, her cheeks flushed, and she's starting to look seriously ill.

"I'm fine," she mumbles when Jared asks her how she's doing, and Jared lets her push on for another thirty minutes before he puts his foot down.

"You're sick," he argues, and Genevieve glares at him weakly. "There's no use in going on. We should take a break, let you rest."

"It's not that bad," Genevieve protests, but she sinks down onto the ground anyway. Jared kneels down by her, brushes a sweaty strand of hair off her forehead. Her skin feels too warm, clammy, and he frowns.

"You have a fever, Gen," Jared says, and Genevieve pulls a face.

"No, I don't," she mumbles, and Jared notes that her eyes look a little glassy.

He looks at the others, helplessly, and Jensen joins him, touching Genevieve's forehead. "You do," he agrees. 

"Shit, Gen. Why didn't you tell us it was that bad? We could have stayed put for a few days, let you rest," Jared chides and Genevieve shrugs.

"I was feeling okay this morning. Better, at least," she mumbles, and Jared rubs her arm comfortingly, feeling a little bad for his reproach when she's obviously feeling miserable.

"Lie down," Jensen suggests. "We'll stay here for now, set camp."

"We have the whole day left," Genevieve protests weakly.

"You need to get better," Danneel chimes in, sitting down by her. "If we keep going and you get worse, it won't do us any good."

"She's right. We can take a day, or even two, and let you recover," Jensen says and gets up. "Jeff, why don't you make a fire? Danneel, can you stay with Genevieve while Jared and I go see if we find some water and food?"

Danneel nods, and Jeff is already putting down his backpack. Jensen holds his hand out to Jared, pulling him to his feet.

"Can you do something?" Jared asks, glancing back at Genevieve as Jensen leads him to the small cluster of trees and bushes.

Jensen looks at him with raised eyebrows. "Do something?"

"You know, magic," Jared mumbles and frowns. "You're a dragon. You're old magic. Pure. Right?"

"It doesn't work like that," Jensen says with a sigh. "I have a lot of powers, but none like that. I can't heal with my magic, at least not on others but... you can, Jared."

Jared wraps his arms around his waist and shakes his head. "No, I can't," he says. "I haven't used my magic in forever. I don't know what I'm doing."

"It's still in you," Jensen says softly, and Jared bites his lower lip. He thinks of the sapling, the power he felt rushing through him, but he shakes his head.

"It's too much, Jensen. I can't do that," he admits, and Jensen gives him a small nod.

"She's not that bad, Jared. It's okay. She'll be fine," he assures Jared and reaches out, giving Jared's arm a squeeze. "It's enough if we find the right herbs and plants. You remember what your mother taught you about herbal medicine?"

Jared bites down on his lips, remembers watching his mother mix things together. "Not really. Some," he says finally. "I wouldn't know how to recognize the plants we need."

Jensen smiles. "That's okay. I know what we need," he says.

"You do?"

Jensen shrugs. "Your mother showed me some stuff," he says, and Jared looks surprised. "I was interested, is all."

Jared gets a feeling that Jensen isn't telling the whole truth, but he decides not to push it. Jensen used to spend a lot of time not just with him, but his whole family. He wouldn't be surprised if Jensen learned a thing or two from his mother as well, even if his magic was different from theirs.

They comb through the trees and the grassy ground underneath, trying to find the plants Jensen describes to him. They don't find a lot, but there are some plants that Jensen can identify, and Jared picks them, trying to remember what his mother taught him. He thanks the plants silently, lets his magic flow through them as he picks what he needs to strengthen both the leaves he picks and the plants he leaves behind.

"Thank you," he whispers to the last plant, and feels a warm hand settle on his neck, squeezing. 

Back at their make-shift camp, Jared brews a tea for Genevieve with what they have, mumbling soft chants he remembers from his mother. 

"What's that?" Genevieve asks when Jared hands her a cup, sitting down next to her.

"Medicine, kind of," Jared replies and ducks his head. "My mother's recipe, if you want. It's kind of a, uh, a potion."

"What do you mean?" Genevieve asks, frowning, and Jared shrugs.

"I made it."

"But you don't..." she trails off. "Jared?"

Jared hangs his head and doesn't meet her eyes. He wants to tell her; it's the only reason he mentioned that it's more than a normal tea. Genevieve deserves to know this about him, finally, and he deserves to be able to share this part of him with her. 

"I don't know anymore," he admits. "I had some magic when I was a kid. My mother started teaching me some stuff, but then she died and... well, you know what happened. But you aren't feeling well, so Jensen and I gave it a try. If nothing else, it's a warm tea."

Genevieve looks at him with big, confused eyes and Jared runs his hand over the top of her head. "Just drink it and get better, okay?" he mumbles. "I promise I'll explain."

Genevieve looks hesitant, but then she nods. "Okay," she agrees and takes a small sip of the tea. Jared stays with her, stroking her hair until she falls back asleep and then he goes to where Jensen is sitting by the fire. He sinks down and leans into him, wanting nothing but to be close to him for a few silent moments.

Jensen turns his head and softly kisses his brow. "It'll be okay," he whispers. "You did well."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I'm proud of you, Jared," Jensen says quietly. "And your mother would be, too."

+

Genevieve is looking a lot better the next day, and they decide it's okay for them to resume their travels. They still take it easy, taking more breaks and walking at a more leisurely pace than before. Jared thinks it's not just for Genevieve's sake, but also because the Red Mountain is getting closer and closer, and that means the Red Forest is, too. It's the one place Jared's been worried about the most and he knows the others feel the same way. There are so many rumors and legends surrounding the forest and Jared isn't sure what to expect, but he doubts it'll be a pleasant place to be. 

So far, he thinks they've lucked out. The circumstances might not always have been the best, but they've done all right. That's part of the reason why he feels like things will get worse, like they're due for something bad to happen.

They make one final stop for the night, by the Silent River that flows through the valley. It's oddly peaceful there, a green, almost lush valley spreading out for miles and miles, crisscrossed by the river.

Jensen tells them he'll spread his wings, see if he can find some food. Jared watches him for a while, zooming through the air, big and majestic. Jensen in his dragon form is beautiful, mesmerizing, and as Jared watches him he wishes he would never have to return to the castle, that he could stay with Jensen and sleep pressed up against his side, Jensen's wing curled over him, every night. 

Jensen finally returns, a dead deer hanging from his claws. He drops it, a few feet above the ground, flies another big round over their heads and then lands, the ground shaking under them.

He changes back into his human form before he goes to get his dagger. Jared watches him start gutting the deer, and it makes his stomach a little queasy. They've hunted some rabbits, some smaller animals and birds, but never anything that big. And sure, Jared's been on hunts before, but they always handed their spoils off to the cook back at the castle and he's never actually seen the animals being gutted. He's slowly getting used to it now, but it's not a nice sight.

Still, he takes a deep breath, gets his own dagger and kneels down by Jensen's side. "Show me what to do," he demands, and Jensen looks at him for a moment before nodding. 

They gut the deer together, prepare the meat they can eat and use as provision for the next day, at least. It's not fun or pleasant, but Jared feels oddly satisfied once they're done.

He feels a little queasy when he looks down at his hands though, covered and splattered with blood. "Uh," he mumbles. "I'll go wash up."

"I'll join you in a moment," Jensen says, laughing softly. Jared tries not to look at his hands as he walks down to the shore of the river, kneeling down on the soft, sandy ground, and starts washing the blood away.

He's just patting his hands dry on his tunic when Jensen joins him, holding his hands to the water and letting it wash away the traces of blood as well. "You okay?" he asks softly.

"I'm good. Fine," Jared replies and frowns. "Why do you ask?"

Jensen shrugs. "You've been quiet. Lost in thought."

Jared shrugs, then snorts when a thought occurs to him. "We're at the Silent River. Fitting, huh?" 

"You know why it's called the Silent River?" Jensen asks as he goes to sit down a couple of feet away from the water. Jared shakes his head.

Jensen smiles and pats the ground next to him, and Jared joins him. "My mother used to tell me this story. Further up north, where the river is the border between the Amell's kingdom and yours, there used to be a young couple. The girl lived in the Amell kingdom, and there was a boy who lived on this side. The kingdoms were at odds with each other at the time and nobody was allowed to cross the border. But there's a place where the river isn't quite as wide, and the boy and the girl would see each other across the river. He'd fish, and she'd wash clothes, and if they swam out a little, they got to be close enough that they could talk." 

"And they fell in love," Jared guesses. 

"They fell in love," Jensen agrees. "Sometimes, when the river was calm, they could shout things to each other from their sides of the river. Of course, people noticed and though they weren't breaking any rules, neither of them crossing the border, people weren't happy. And so her family decided to send her away. But she overheard them talking about it the night before they planned to take her to her aunt's, far in the south. She ran away that night, to the river, determined to swim to the other side." 

"What happened?" Jared asks. 

"There was a storm and the current was strong, and she only managed to swim halfway before she grew too weak. She was pulled down the river by the water and drowned." 

"She drowned?" Jared interjects, and he can't help but think this is possibly the worst story ever. "Seriously?"

"She did," Jensen says. "The boy heard about what happened the next morning and he was heartbroken. He went to the river and he cried, shouting out the pain, and the river got absolutely quiet despite the high tide. And he returned almost every day, until the day he died, to mourn the girl's loss and each time he sat by the river, across from where she'd always been, the river was calm and silent, and you couldn't even hear the gurgle of the water." 

Jared stares out at the water and frowns. "That's not a very happy story." 

"No, it's not," Jensen agrees, and smiles sadly. "Love doesn't always have a happy ending. I suppose some things are just not meant to be." 

"Jensen," Jared whispers, and he reaches out, covering Jensen's hand with his and curling his fingers until they're intertwined with Jensen's. "That thing you wanted to tell me before, about why we have a connection that allows me to hear you when you've shifted. I think now's a good time to tell me." 

Jensen shakes his head. "Don't ask this from me, Jared," he says softly.

"Why?" 

"Because I'm a dragon, and you're a human. Because I was all but exiled for what I am and you're the prince," Jensen says. "Because this is one of those stories that won't have a happy ending and it's killing me. So don't make me talk about this anymore. Let's go get that damn stone, get you home where you belong and just... just let it be."

Jensen starts to get up, and Jared quickly grabs him by the wrist to make him stop. He's not sure what's going to happen between them, but he suddenly can't take the thought of Jensen running away from this, from him. If nothing else, Jared wants this. 

Jensen looks at him with big, worried eyes and Jared ignores the warning he reads there and leans in, brushing their lips together. For a split second, he feels Jensen's lips move against his, responding, and then Jensen pulls away, fisting his hand in Jared's shirt. 

"Don't," he murmurs.

Jared stays where he is, their lips inches apart. "Why?" 

Jensen makes a noise that's somewhere between pained and disbelieving. "Because if you ask this of me, I'll give it to you," he says and drops his head. 

Jared shakes his head. "So?" he asks. "What's so bad about this? About me and you?"

"Dragons mate for life," Jensen says, voice a little hoarse. It's not new information for Jared, but he can't help but feel surprised for a split second before he composes himself.

"So can humans," he points out. 

"Jared." 

"What? I'm a prince, Jensen. I'm expected to find someone, get married, and spend the rest of my life with them." 

"So you want to marry me now?" 

Jared shrugs. "Marriage, mating. Whatever." 

"Jared. I'm a _dragon_. Your father won't let this happen." 

"My father married a witch, and his son is a warlock. He'll deal with his son-in-law being a dragon," Jared says heatedly, shaking his head. "It shouldn't matter. It's me and you, Jensen; it just... it makes sense."

"And if he won't accept it? What are you going to do then?" Jensen asks, but his expression softens and Jared knows he's won. He leans in, brushes their lips together again and pulls Jensen closer. 

"Then there are some small settlements east of the kingdom, in the mountains, where I hear you can live quite well," he mumbles, and breathes in slowly, nuzzling his nose against Jensen's cheek.

Jensen leans into the touch, head tilted up, and snorts. "You can't just leave." 

"I would," Jared replies without hesitation, and he knows he means it. 

Jensen cups his cheek with one hand, thumb tracing over Jared's skin. "That's the answer I feared you'd give me." 

Jared shrugs. "I'm sick of other people making decisions for me, Jensen. Sick of having others decide what I can and can't have in my life," he says. "I want this. _You_." 

The look Jensen gives him is almost sad, but he leans up and kisses him gently, lips brushing against Jared's. "We might be making a huge mistake right now." 

"Or we might help make things better. At least for us, and that's worth it if you ask me," Jared replies and kisses him again, more insistently.

+

There's a chilly wind coming from the river and the Red Mountain is looming over them in the distance, dark and threatening.

Jared sleeps curled up against Jensen like he's done most nights, his wing covering and protecting him, and despite what Jared knows is coming, he feels lighter than he has in a long time. He presses up against Jensen's side, kisses the smooth, warm scales. 

"Good night," he whispers, lips curved up into a small smile.

He feels Jensen's chest rumble, his big body shifting a little to curl around Jared even more. "Good night, precious," he says, the words echoing oddly in Jared's head. Jared grins and kisses Jensen's scales again.

He falls asleep dreaming about Jensen flying with him over the city, the houses and lanes stretching out under them and the wind blowing past Jared's face.

+

"So this is it," Genevieve says. Her hand is hovering over the hilt of her sword as they stand at the edge of the forest. 

The leaves of the trees are bright red, and if it was fall, it wouldn't look out of place. It's summer, however, and the trees should be a lush, healthy green. It makes Jared shudder, reminding him of blood. There are many stories he's heard about the Red Forest and the mountain that stretches up behind it . He's sure some of them are rumors, but even if only half of them are true, then that's bad enough. There are people who say the ground is poisoned, others who say that the forest cursed by dark magic and that it kills all life. What Jared knows for sure is that he won't be able to use any magic in the forest, and Jensen won't be able to shift.

"We need to be careful now," Jeff says. "There are feral animals living in the forest and from what I've heard they might be the least of our worries."

He takes a step forward, and Jared hesitates, wishing he could be by the river again, and curled up against Jensen. 

"We'll be fine. Don't let the stories scare you," Jensen murmurs close to his ear. Jared looks back at him and gives him a short nod, before following Jeff.

Jared feels the difference right away as they step past the first line of trees. It's quieter, like the sounds from outside are being muffled, and he feels off, unbalanced. It takes Jared a moment to realize it's because he can't feel anything from the nature around him. It's like the ground, the trees are dead and there's no magic for him to reach. Even the others feel different to him, like there's something about them that's missing. Jared shudders. 

A hand settles on his back and he turns his head to see Jensen standing close behind him.

"Try not to think about it," he says, and Jared nods. Jared glances at his friends and sees Genevieve has her arms wrapped around herself and Danneel looks tense, worried, while Jeff is wearing the grim, determined expression Jared has seen a million times. 

"If we hurry, we should reach the end of the forest by tomorrow night," Jensen says, to everyone now, and his hand presses against Jared's back a little more firmly. "I'd say we shouldn't waste time. I, for one, don't want to be in here any longer than I have to."

"I couldn't agree more," Jared mutters, and leans back into Jensen's touch for a brief moment, imagining he can soak it in, store it, before he takes a deep breath and nods to himself. "Let's go."

The ground is even and dry, but they're still struggling. It's like walking through thick, heavy fog even though there is none. Jared trudges on, trying to only think about their aim of getting through the forest.

"It feels suffocating," Genevieve says, falling into step next to Jared. 

"It's _dead_ ," Jared replies, and Genevieve looks up, startled. 

"Dead?" 

Jared shrugs. "It feels that way to me. I can't feel anything. Even you guys feel muted." 

Genevieve raises both her eyebrows in surprise and stares up at him. "You feel us?" she asks.

"I guess? It's hard to explain," Jared starts, trying to find the right words to express how he's feeling. It's tougher because everything feels new to him; his magic might have never truly been gone, but rediscovering it feels like the first time all over again. "It's nothing specific and I wasn't ever aware of it, but now that we're here, you all feel different. Like there's a barrier. Like you're less than before." 

"Why'd you never tell me?" she asks after a short moment of silence. "About your magic, I mean." 

Jared pulls his cloak around him a little tighter and shrugs. "I don't know. I wasn't even really sure if you didn't know," he says. "It wasn't a secret around court, but... then my father banned magic, and it became this thing that nobody talked about. Most people with magic left, but those who stayed... it was like they pretended they were just normal humans. It became something to be ashamed of, something _wrong_." 

"I wouldn't have cared," Genevieve insists, and Jared gives her a grateful smile.

"I know that now. But I just... I was a kid, Gen. I was a kid who was told that the things he could do were bad and should be hidden, so I did that. And it became a habit, I suppose. Like, after a while I started believing there was something wrong with me and then I wasn't even sure I still had any magic left in me," he says and he reaches out, brushing their hands together. "It's hard to explain. But I promise I never wanted to lie to you. I just... I never talked to anyone about it. Because I was ashamed of it and because I knew my father would throw a fit if he knew. You have no idea what it was like, having everyone at court pretending I wasn't like my mother and I still felt so damn different." 

"And you never used your magic?" 

"Never," Jared says, shaking his head. 

"Until now," Genevieve adds and slides her hand into his. "What you can do, what you did for me, that's pretty amazing." 

Jared looks down at her earnest, sweet face, and smiles. "It was just a tea. But it's what best friends do, right?" 

Genevieve nods, and then her gaze settles on something to Jared's side and she ducks her head, grinning. 

"What?" Jared asks. 

"I think someone isn't happy about us holding hands," she confides in a quiet voice, and Jared turns his head to find Jensen watching them. Genevieve laughs softly. "He's not possessive at all, huh?"

Jared flushes. "Maybe a bit."

"So. You and Jensen." 

Jared looks at her, surprised. "How do you know?"

Genevieve makes a face at him and snorts. "Oh please. Best friend, remember? I can tell."

"Oh," Jared mumbles and shrugs. "We kissed yesterday."

Genevieve hums. "I always wondered what type of person you'd go for; you never really showed any interest in anyone," she muses and grins up at him. "He's beautiful."

"But?" 

Genevieve laughs softly. "He's kind of intimidating, Jared. I mean, I don't know much about dragons, but he's huge and he breathes fire. Doesn't that scare you even a little bit?" 

Jared glances at Jensen again, who is still watching them. He offers him a small smile, and thinks about Jensen when he's shifted. The awe he's felt seeing him, the sheer magnificence and power of his presence. "No, never," Jared says. "I feel safe when he's around."

Genevieve squeezes his hand. "You're weird," she teases, and Jared shrugs.

+

They don't make it nearly as far as Jared thought they would. It doesn't help that there's no clear path to take and the further they get, the thicker and more unruly the undergrowth becomes. In the afternoon the fog that Jared swears he had felt all day starts forming for real, laying in a thick, damp layer over the ground. It feels just as impenetrable as it looks, slowing down their steps even further. 

He notices how the others are flanking him now, like they're trying to shield him in case something jumps out at them, but nothing does. 

They set up their camp for the night the moment it gets darker, and Jared realizes that they haven't been able to see the sun since they entered the forest. 

The fire they make is small, the twigs and branches barely burning even if they're dry, and they eat left-over meat from the deer Jensen caught the previous day. 

When Jared gets up to take a piss, Jensen gets up with him and follows. 

"Is this really necessary?" he asks, but he's not really upset. Jensen isn't going to back down and Jared does feel a little safer with him by his side.

"I need to talk to you," Jensen murmurs. 

Once they're out of sight, he steps up even closer to Jared and brushes their hands together. "I won't be able to shift tonight." 

Jared frowns. "Yeah, I know." 

"I just figured we should talk about what we'll do tonight. If you want me to keep my distance or..." 

"Of course not," Jared quickly says, shaking his head. He's not looking forward to sleeping in the forest tonight, but the last thing he wants is for Jensen to not be by his side, pressed against him.

Jensen gives him a thoughtful look, reaching up and tucking loose strands of hair behind Jared's ear. "They'll know," he says, and it dawns on Jared that Jensen is worried about this. About Jared wanting to keep things between them secret.

"They'll find out sooner or later anyway," he says and covers Jensen's hand with his. "And anyway, I want them to know. I'd rather get to kiss you and hold your hand whenever I want than have to sneak around."

"Good," Jensen says and smiles at him, looking pleased. 

Jared leans in and kisses him, quick and chaste. "Now turn around and don't watch me," he orders and Jensen laughs, but obeys, mockingly covering his eyes and turning his back to Jared.

When they get ready to go to sleep that night, spreading out their cloaks on the ground, Jared pointedly puts his backpack right next to Jensen's and pulls him in for a quick, dry kiss. He glances at the others to check their reactions. 

Danneel has a small, knowing smile on her face and Jared realizes that there's a good chance she already knew; she probably saw something way before even Jensen and he realized how things between them were developing. Jeff, on the other hand, looks surprised but then he meets Jared's eyes and smiles, giving him an approving nod.

+

Jared wakes up alone. Genevieve is still sleeping, curled up a few feet away from where Jensen and he had slept curled together. Jared sits up, yawning and stretching his arms, trying to loosen the stiff muscles.

Danneel is preparing food by the fire and she looks up when Jared moves, giving him a nervous, tense smile. Jared freezes and looks around, worry settling in the pit of his stomach.

"What's wrong?" he asks, "Where are Jensen and Jeff?" 

"Around," she says and waves to her left, but the gesture doesn't seem casual at all. "Somewhere. They... hell, I don't know." 

"What do you mean?" Jared asks and starts to get up, pushing his cloak away.

"They were up early and they were talking and...it got a bit heated," Danneel says, biting down on her lower lip. 

"What were they talking about?" 

Danneel sighs. "You. And Jensen," she admits. 

"What? Did Jeff say something?" Jared asks, and he's worried for entirely different reasons suddenly. Things between him and Jensen had seemed good, but he's still not sure Jensen is really convinced they'll work. And Jared knows Jeff and Jensen are close enough that Jensen trusts Jeff's opinion, and Jared hopes Jeff isn't going to say or do anything to change Jensen's mind again.

"He was saying how great it is that you guys are together and how he'd been hoping this might happen," Danneel says, and Jared frowns at her.

"He did? That's not bad, right?" 

Danneel shrugs. "It's what I heard him say. Jensen got kind of weird after that and I'm not sure what they said, but the tone of the conversation changed pretty quickly, and Jensen... well, Jensen got angry. They left, probably so they wouldn't disturb you guys, but Jensen seemed pretty upset." 

Jared gets up and looks around their little camp, trying to figure out where they could have gone. It's still foggy and the trees are so dense he can't see anything past a few feet. 

Danneel calls out his name softly. "Don't go after them," she says. "Stay with us. I'm sure they'll come back soon."

Jared wants to argue with her, but he has no idea how to find Jeff and Jensen, so he sinks back down with a sigh. His stomach twisting with nerves, he sits and waits.

Genevieve is up by the time Jensen and Jeff return, sitting by Jared's side and patting his arm absently every time Jared starts getting restless.

Both Jensen and Jeff look tense, and Jared swears he can practically feel anger rolling off Jensen in waves. He looks at him, confused and worried, but Jensen just catches his eyes for a moment and shakes his head before sitting down by the small fire.

"Let's eat and get going," he says, voice curt. "We still have a pretty long way ahead of us."

Jared frowns at him, but Jensen refuses to meet his eyes. He doesn't sit close enough for them to touch. It takes all of Jared's willpower to stay where he is, and he barely manages to eat anything.

It's only when they set out for the day that Jensen takes him by the arm, his steps slowing down so they fall behind. "Are you okay?" he asks softly, not letting go of Jared, and Jared frowns at him.

"Are _you_?" he asks. "Danneel says you and Jeff were fighting." 

Jensen presses his lips together and looks away for a moment. 

"Jensen. Please," Jared starts, keeping his voice low and soft, "if he said something bad about us, don't listen. I'm begging you." 

Jensen's head snaps up at that, looking surprised. "Jared, no. Don't worry. It's not like that, okay?" 

"No?" 

"Hell no. He's quite happy about how things turned out between us," Jensen assures him, and that only calms Jared's nerves down partially. 

"Then why..." he starts and Jensen looks clearly torn. "Tell me, Jensen. What's wrong?" 

Jensen sighs. "Jay, there were some things I didn't know. _You_ didn't know." 

"About Jeff? Like what?" 

"I want to tell you, Jared. You have to believe me. But if I do... it might change things, might endanger what we need to do, and that can't happen." 

Jared shakes his head. "I don't understand." 

"I know you don't. But you have to trust me right now. I know you hate not being in the know, and keeping something from you sucks," Jensen says, sounding so genuinely upset that Jared wants nothing more than to stop walking, to comfort him. "But I really do think it's better this way. The only thing that matters right now is getting the gem and getting it back where it belongs. I promise I'll tell you everything once we find it, okay?" 

Jared looks at Jensen for a moment, then nods. "Okay." 

"Really?" 

"You're asking me to trust you and I do. Completely," Jared tells him. Jensen looks at him with relief written all over his face. 

"Thank you," Jensen murmurs and leans in, brushing his lips against Jared's cheek. As he steps back, he takes Jared's hand in his and he doesn't let go even when they catch up with the others.

+

They've been walking for a few hours, the fog getting thicker again, when Jensen suddenly stops walking and makes a shushing noise, his eyes fixed on the underbrush to their left. All of them halt, and Jared holds his breath, trying to hear something. There's nothing there at first, but then he picks up on a faint rustling sound.

"What?" Danneel whispers, and Jensen shushes her again.

"Something's coming," he murmurs and shifts so his body is turned toward the direction from which the sound is coming and blocking Jared at the same time. The others automatically move in closer to him, and Jared realizes they must have discussed this, planned this. 

For what feels like forever, they stand completely silent, bodies tense and ready to attack whatever is coming at them. And then, a few feet away, something huge and dark steps out of the bushes, fog swirling around it, and Jared realizes it's a wolf just as two more appear behind it.

They look thin and scraggly, faces sunken in. Jared thinks they must be sick, or maybe just starving.

"They're just animals," Jared murmurs, and Jensen shakes his head.

"They're starving animals. Big difference," he says, just as the wolf in the front crouches down, getting ready to jump at them.

Jared grabs the small dagger from his belt, reading himself for an attack, when Jensen suddenly takes a sharp step forward and lets out a sound that Jared has never heard before. It's a deep, inhuman screech that echoes loudly through the forest around them and the wolves jump back. 

For a split second, Jared wonders if these wolves have ever seen a dragon, if they're aware of what they're dealing with, but then the wolves seem to regain their composure and Jensen makes another sound, raising his own dagger as the first wolf jumps at him. Jensen meets it with his raised dagger, growling menacingly. Jared is ready to jump in, to help, but a strong hand on his arm is holding him back and he feels a wave of relief when Genevieve jumps forward to help Jensen just as the other two wolves skitter back, retreating to the underbrush.

The wolf that attacked lets out a pained yowl, sagging to the ground and Jared watches as Jensen kills it within seconds, movements sure and powerful in a way he's never seen a human fight.

"We need to leave," Jensen says, taking a step back. "If there's anything else in the forest, something stronger than this, I sure as hell just alerted them to where we are." 

He nudges the corpse of the wolf with his foot before taking a step back. His eyes meet Jared's and Jared startles when he sees they're not green, but glowing a deep, almost golden color. He sees Jensen tense, and Jared quickly moves closer to him, reaching for his hand.

"Okay?" Jensen asks, softly, and Jared nods.

"Always," he promises and then clears his throat, looking back at the other three. "Jensen is right. Let's get out of here."

+

They reach the edge of the forest that evening, and Jared feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders as he stumbles out, sound and feeling rushing back.

He takes a deep breath, hears the others around him doing the same, and the tension of the last couple of days leaves his body.

The worst part, he hopes as he stares up the Red Mountain, is behind them for now.

+

The climb up the Red Mountain is steep and difficult, the rocky ground under their feet loose and unsteady, but Jared thinks he'd rather climb it a thousand times than return to the forest. 

Things between the five of them seem to be getting more and more tense, and Jared knows it's partly because they're so close to their aim and partly because Jensen and Jeff are barely speaking to one another. Whenever Jeff says something, Jensen glares at him or makes displeased, grunting noises.

The one time Jeff reaches out and takes Jared's arm when a few small rocks give out from under Jared's feet, Jensen actually growls at him. "Don't touch him," he demands, and pulls Jared against him, scowling at Jeff.

"I was just helping," Jeff huffs.

"Don't," Jensen replies gruffly. "I'm serious about this, Jeffrey. Stay away from Jared if you know what's good for you."

"Jensen," Jared murmurs softly, touching his arm, and he feels Jensen lean into the touch, body relaxing a little. Jensen looks up, eyes brighter than usual, though still the same green color Jared is used to, and Jared gives him a small nod, hoping it's enough to convey that he trusts him on the issue, no matter what it is.

"Let's keep going," Jensen finally says, but he moves so he's between Jared and Jeff.

+

The higher it gets, the colder the weather becomes, and there's a chilly, sharp wind blowing around the mountain almost constantly. Jared can tell the journey is starting to seriously wear on everyone, and the three days it takes them to climb up are spent almost in completely silence.

Jared tries not to think about the fact that they'll have to make the whole journey back once they have the gem. For the first time, he considers asking Jensen to just take him and leave the others, to get him back home as soon as possible. He knows Jensen would do it without question, would break his rule and carry Jared without protest. It could be so easy. They might have to make it through the forest, but once they're clear of that, Jensen could have him back in the castle within a day. 

But then Jared thinks about being back in the castle, about facing his father. And Jensen. What will happen with them? Will Jensen want to return home or will he try to convince Jared's father to let him stay in the city? Jared knows, either way, he'll stay with Jensen, go wherever he goes, but the thought of leaving the city, leaving his family, still pains him and makes him want to drag their return journey out as long as he can.

+

On their third day, they get high enough that they encounter the first snow. It's just a little at first, barely covering the ground, but soon they're wading through a calf-high layer of snow: thick, heavy flakes swirling around them. Jared's face is stinging from the cold, and he keeps his head ducked down, his hand firmly gripped in Jensen's.

"We must be close," Danneel yells at them over the wind. "This is what my vision looked like. Maybe we should start to spread out."

"You said it was in a small crevice between rocks, right?" Jared asks and Danneel nods, the hood of her cloak hiding half her face.

"It was mostly covered in snow, but you should see the crevice. And a tree, a small gnarly tree, stood right behind it," Danneel explains, holding her arm up at shoulder-height as she describes the tree.

Everyone nods and they start to spread out more, looking around for a place that looks like Danneel's description. It's hard to see with the snow, and Jared has to force himself to keep his head up, even as the icy flakes sting his skin.

They search for close to three hours, always staying close enough to still hear each other but far enough apart that they cover more ground, when Genevieve calls out Jared's name, sounding faint and muffled.

Jared and Jensen are the first the find her, kneeling on the ground. She's scraped the snow of a the side of a small rock formation, and Jared drops down onto the ground next to her and peers into the small, dark crevice. There's something there, wrapped in a cloth, and Jared reaches for it with stiff fingers, carefully pulling it out.

"Is that it?" Genevieve asks, and Jared pulls the heavy, coarse cloth back, revealing a deep blue gem. 

"Yeah," Jared murmurs and he brushes his fingers over it. He expects the smooth surface to be cold, but it's warm, heat and power radiating off it in a way that Jared's never felt before. He's seen the gem what feels like a million times, but he's never actually touched it and as he does, he understands just how important it is. It's not just a stone, like Mark suggested, but it holds a power so strong, so old, Jared is left breathless.

"You found it?" Jeff asks, appearing at their side, Danneel shortly behind him. Jared nods, wrapping the stone up in the cloth again, feeling oddly protective over it suddenly.

"We did," he agrees and gets up slowly, holding the gem carefully.

"Then I guess all we have to do now is get it back to the castle," Jeff says, smiling and looking pleased, and Jensen lets out a loud, angry sneer.

" _We_ don't need to do anything. I think we'll be fine without your help from here on out, Jeffrey," he snaps.

"Jensen," Jeff starts, but Jensen steps in front of Jared, shaking his head. 

"Don't even bother. Whatever the hell you want to say, save it because it doesn't change a damn thing," he says. "We did what we needed to do. We found the gem and that's it. The happy little group you tried to put together here is over and done with."

"Will someone just tell me what the fuck is going on?" Genevieve snaps from behind them, and Jared touches Jensen's shoulder.

"You promised me you'd tell me once we had the gem," he says, and Jensen cranes his head back, a deep frown on his face. "Tell me, Jensen."

Jensen turns a little, lays his hand on Jared's arm. "Jeff paid someone to steal the gem and hide it up here," he says, and Jared tenses, his hold on the gem tightening. He's not sure what he was expecting, but this is something that never even crossed his mind. He feels like he's been punched in the stomach.

"What?" he whispers, and turns to look at Jeff. Genevieve steps up beside him, her hand at her sword, and Jeff looks back at the three of them, shoulders slumped. There's not a trace of protest there and Jared knows Jensen is speaking the truth.

"Let me explain, Jared. Please," Jeff says softly.

"Explain?" Jared asks, and it comes out breathless. "How can you explain that? Why the hell would you do that? You of all people?"

"I had to do something. If nothing changes, there won't be a kingdom left by the time you're king, Jared," Jeff implores. 

"And stealing the gem is going to help fix that how?" 

Jeff sighs. "Without the gem, your father's power continue to slip," he explains. "I was hoping that losing it might open his eyes, that he would see how precarious his power is." 

"What else, Jeff?" Jensen hisses. 

Jeff runs a hand over his face, looking tired and worn. "Remember how I told you that without the magic, the land was suffering? That the kingdom needs magic? Well, I was trying to bring the magic back," he admits, looking at Jensen. Jared looks at him, too. 

"Jensen?" he asks, confused. "I don't understand what he has to do with any of this." 

Jensen snorts. "Jeff knew I would come the second I heard you needed help," he answers and turns to look at him. "Your mother asked me to protect you and I promised I would. Always." 

"What? When did she ask you to do that?" 

"A few weeks before she passed away. I'm not sure if she just had a bad feeling or if she knew something," Jensen explains. "She asked me to keep you safe, and I told her I would."

"And Jeff knew?" 

"Yeah. It never left me, Jared, that promise that I made," Jensen says, looking up at him sadly. "So a few years ago I asked him to let me know if you were ever in any danger, if you ever needed help, and I told him about what your mother asked of me." 

Jared frowns, feeling utterly confused and yet overwhelmed by everything he's already been told. "I still don't understand how getting you to come on this journey with us would help the kingdom in the long run." 

"Because I had a feeling that, if you two reconnected, Jensen wouldn't leave again once we retrieved the gem. That he would return to the city with you and you would do anything to make your father lift the ban, allowing Jensen to stay," Jeff explains, sounding dejected. "I remember the friendship you two had as kids, and I saw how strong Jensen's ties to you still were. And I know you, Jared. I know how much you've missed him all these years, how you were hoping and praying for the day dragons would return to the city. I had a feeling that all I needed to do was get you two to spend time together and it would all come back: the bond that you two always shared."

"So you instigated this whole thing?" Jared asks, voice getting louder suddenly. "The whole time there was never any real danger, nobody trying to usurp the kingdom?" 

"The gem was gone, and needed to be retrieved," Jeff says. "This journey hasn't been any less meaningful just because it was me who stole it." 

Jared pushes away from Jensen, taking a step toward Jeff. "I can't believe you," he snaps. "You're insane. This whole fucking thing is insane!"

"Jared, please," Jeff tries, but Jared shakes his head.

"Don't. Just don't talk to me right now," he says. He feels the sudden need to get away from the whole situation. To just breathe and take the whole thing in, make sense of it in his head. He pushes past Jeff, past Danneel who's been standing behind him silently the whole time, and keeps walking, his steps heavy and slow in the deep snow. He walks for a good five minutes and then sinks down to the icy ground. 

He looks up when someone clears his throat and finds Jensen standing a few feet away, looking unsure and hesitant. 

"Hey," Jensen says softly. "I wasn't sure if you wanted to be alone, or if I could join you for a bit."

Jared shakes his head. "It's fine," he says, and then waits for Jensen to sit down by his side. Jensen does, but he leaves more space between them than there has been in days, and Jared frowns and scoots closer, not caring that the cold wet is starting to seep through his clothes. He leans into Jensen's side.

"Are you mad at me?" Jensen asks, "for keeping this from you?"

Jared lowers his head and lets his nose brush against the warm skin of Jensen's neck, breathing in the familiar scent. "No. I told you I trusted you," he says and turns his head, resting his cheek against Jensen's shoulder. "How did you find out anyway?"

"Jeff just seemed a little too happy about us getting together. We were talking that morning, and he said something like this being even better than what he hoped for and it rubbed me the wrong way, so I confronted him about it, kept pushing until he told me the truth," Jensen says and slides his arm around Jared's waist. "I'm so sorry. About everything." 

"You have nothing to apologize for," Jared says, shaking his head a little. 

"I didn't tell you about what your mother asked of me. That's another secret I kept from you, Jared." 

"You were a kid, Jensen," Jared says, lifting his head to meet Jensen's eyes. 

"She was my queen and I gave her my word. It doesn't matter how old I was; it was always a binding promise to me," Jensen says and kisses Jared's jaw. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you during those years." 

"You're here now," Jared replies and kisses him, brushing their lips together softly. "Promise me you won't leave again." 

"I promise," Jensen says against his lips and pulls him in closer, kissing him again. Jared makes a soft, desperate noise and wraps his arms around Jensen's neck, holding him close. Jensen's lips are incredibly warm and soft, and he frames Jared's face with his hands, firm yet gentle, and keeps kissing him until Jared is breathless.


	5. Chapter 5

They make their way back down the mountain far enough that they don't have to sleep in the snow. The group scatters, setting up camp.

Jared gives Jensen a small, sweet kiss and tells him he'll be back soon, before he goes to sit with Danneel. Jeff is keeping his distance, setting up his things to sleep away from the rest of them.

"Did you know?" Jared asks Danneel without preamble once he's dropped down on the ground next to her.

Danneel rolls her lower lip between her teeth and gives him a short nod. "Yeah. I knew."

"And you thought the whole thing was okay? You didn't think maybe it was something I should have known?"

Danneel sighs. "It's complicated, Jared. Look, the first vision I had didn't completely make sense. I saw a bunch of stuff and it wasn't clear. When I saw Jeff at your father’s council, I recognized him from one of my visions," she explains. "Your father completely dismissed my vision. He barely even listened to me. And I didn’t know what my visions meant yet, I just knew that, from the things I had seen, Jeff meant no harm. So I talked to him, demanding answers."

"You should have told someone about it."

Danneel sighs. "It wasn't that easy. Where I live, things are pretty bad. With each day that passes without magic, things are getting worse," she says. "When I talked to Jeff, I saw the opportunity for change. I've lived my whole life afraid I might get exiled for what I can do. I've been seeing the world fall apart around me. I just needed things to get better and when Jeff told me what he was planning, it gave me a little hope for the first time in a long, long time."

"You still betrayed me. The whole kingdom," Jared snaps, and instantly feels bad when Danneel hangs her head.

"Yes, I did," she admits softly. "But my intentions were good. And the thing is, Jared, I think maybe Jeff's plan is still going to work. So no matter how mad you are at him, at both of us, I can't regret what I did."

Jared bites down on his bottom lip. He wants to keep arguing, wants to stay mad at her, but the fight suddenly leaves him. He nods and gets up slowly, walking away from Danneel without another word.

+

The journey back continues to be strange. Tense.

Genevieve seems to be almost as upset as Jensen, and Jared gets it. Jeff, as well Danneel, have lied to them, and Jared doesn't need to talk to Genevieve to know how betrayed she feels by them as well. 

Jensen's anger burns the brightest, though, hot and unforgivable, and apart from when he's shifted into his dragon form, he's never struck Jared as more inhuman. He's more protective of Jared now than ever before, and sometimes, when Jeff gets too close, growls rumble from the back of his throat, and his eyes will flash with anger, greener and brighter than ever. 

Jared gets him too – he's a dragon, and this isn't about the fact that Jeff lied to him, but that he unnecessarily endangered his mate. Because that's what he is, or what he will be, and Jared might not fully grasp what it's like for Jensen, but he knows enough about dragons to understand how it makes Jensen feel in theory. He knows it's the worst thing Jeff could have done, in Jensen's eyes. 

Their little group, for all their previous issues and disagreements, seems to have fully broken apart now. Sometimes they'll walk silently for hours, more space between them than ever before, with Jensen all but glued to Jared's side. It makes them vulnerable, but Jared feels reassured knowing there's no actual danger, not in the way they thought at least.

+

They reach the forest within three days and spend the night a few miles outside of it, keeping two fires going. Danneel and Jeff are asleep by one, Genevieve by the other. Jared sits with Jensen across the fire from where Genevieve is curled up under her blanket, still wide awake while the other three are sleeping.

He sits between Jensen's legs, Jensen seated on a small rock, and cuddles up against him. There's a cold breeze, but Jensen's body heat keeps him warm and comfortable. 

"Want me to shift?" Jensen murmurs after a while, squeezing his arms around him. 

"I'm good," Jared replies and tilts his head to press his lips against Jensen's jaw. "What were you thinking about? You looked kind of pensive while Gen and I were making the fire." 

"You," Jensen answers. Jared laughs softly. 

"That's really cheesy." 

"I'm a dragon, Jay. My mate is always my first concern." 

"Fine," Jared agrees, and feels secretly thrilled by the simple fact that Jensen called him his mate. He shifts for a better angle, brushing his lips down Jensen's jaw, to the juncture where it meets his throat. "What exactly were you thinking about me?" 

"That you're beautiful," Jensen murmurs, stroking his arm. "And I'll never be able to give you up now." 

"Good," Jared says, pulling back a little to smile up at Jensen. "I don't want you to." 

"Things might get pretty difficult for us, at court." 

Jared cups Jensen's face with one hand and shakes his head. "We've talked about this. We'll figure it out." 

"It still worries me," Jensen admits and rests their foreheads together. 

Jared nuzzles their noses together, smiling. "I'm exactly where I want to be right now, Jensen. With you, in your arms. And that will always be where I want to be. It'll be worth anything we might have to face." 

"The gem hasn't changed that?" Jensen whispers. 

"What?" 

"I know the power it holds. And you felt it when you touched it – I could see it on your face." 

Jared frowns. "I felt it, yeah. But why would that change anything?" 

Jensen shrugs. "Power does funny things to people." 

"So does love, I've heard," Jared replies, and kisses Jensen softly. He moves away for a moment, leaning to the side to grab his bag, and pulls out the stone, wrapped securely in the thick cloth. He unwraps it and smiles, taking Jensen's hand in one of his and placing the gem onto his palm.

"Jared," Jensen says, sounding startled, and Jared bites back a grin. 

"What?" he asks, feigning innocence. 

"Only the rulers of the Padalecki kingdom are supposed to touch this." 

Jared looks up at Jensen, kneeling between his legs, and shrugs. "You're my mate. It makes you part of the Padalecki family," he says. 

Jensen looks at him, first exasperated and then fond, and it makes warmth pool in Jared's stomach. "We're not officially mated yet," Jensen reminds him softly. 

"Speaking of that... when will we be?" Jared counters, raising one eyebrow and giving Jensen his best, suggestive grin.

Jensen narrows his eyes. "Not out in the open, with other people sleeping just a few feet away from us." 

Jared pouts, but the grin wins out. "So, when we're alone, huh? We'll probably stay at an inn soon, once we've made it through the forest." 

"There's plenty of time," Jensen replies, shaking his head. 

"Well, I'm rather impatient," Jared states. 

"So unbecoming for a future king." 

Jared snorts. "And you're being very disobedient for a future king's consort." 

"I'm not a consort," Jensen says with distaste and Jared grins. 

"You will be," he gloats and presses close to Jensen. "So, consort, what does it feel like? The gem?" 

Jensen looks like he wants to argue some more, but then he finally looks down at his hands and shrugs. "Warm," he says. "And I can feel its power, but it's...gentle." 

"Gentle?" Jared asks, because it hadn't felt gentle at all the first time he touched it.

Jensen looks back up at him, a small smile playing on his lips. "Reminds me of you." 

"I'm gentle and warm?" 

Jensen cups Jared's face with his free hand and nods. "Yes." 

"I'm a trained warrior, Jensen." 

"And I'm a fire-breathing, possessive, temperamental dragon," Jensen replies. "And you, my dear, have never been in a serious fight other than the one a couple of weeks ago, let alone a war." 

"I could be, though," Jared argues, because Jensen might be right but Jared isn't going to give in. 

Jensen glowers at him and lets out a small growl. "I'd burn down the entire world before I'd let it come to that." 

Surprised, Jared laughs again. "You have issues," he teases. 

Jensen re-wraps the gem and hands it back to Jared. "Which part about me being a dragon have you not understood?" 

"Oh, I understood. All of it," Jared says. "But you know, you'll have to let me fight my own battles, handle my own struggles sometimes, Jensen. I'm a grown man, and I'm by no means weak." 

"I know that. You're stronger than anyone I know, Jared. But that just makes me want to protect you even more," Jensen says, and Jared rolls his eyes in amusement. 

"Fine. So, my temperamental dragon, I think it's time to get some rest."

Jensen sighs, but he leans in and kisses Jared's forehead gently. They move far enough away from the fire that Jensen can shift, and Jared curls up under his wing as he's always done. Jensen winds around him, tail and neck forming a circle around Jared, and Jared sighs as he presses up against him. He'll miss this, he thinks, once they're back at court.

+

Two days later, the forest is finally behind them. The second time wasn't any more pleasant, but Jared feels like their way back has been easier so far, less worrisome.

Within another two days, they make it to a town and find an inn to stay at for the night. They're all grimy, exhausted and sore, and Jared wants nothing more than a hot bath and sleep. 

They have a quick meal, Jeff and Danneel once again sitting apart from them, and then retreat to their rooms. Jared stops to ask the inn owner to run him a hot bath first, offering to pay for it before the man even asks, and he and Jensen hang around in the common room a little longer, having some ale while they're waiting for the bath to be ready.

Back in their room, the old metal tub in the far corner filled with steaming water, Jared quickly sheds his clothes, letting them fall to the ground carelessly.

"You gonna join me?" he asks Jensen, giving him a grin as he works open his breeches. 

Jensen's eyes travel down his body, hot and greedy, and Jared feels a flush heat up his skin, his confidence leaving him suddenly.

Jensen looks back up and smirks, nodding once. "Oh, I'm definitely joining you, my prince," he says, and Jared watches in fascination as he efficiently starts taking off his clothes as well. He's trying not to stare too openly, but it's hard as more and more of Jensen's skin is revealed. He thinks he's allowed to look, but he doesn't want to seem too eager; doesn't want Jensen to think the bath is just some ploy to have sex. Jared, quite honestly, just wants to get clean and warm for now and be close to Jensen while doing so. 

Jensen is paler than he is, and he's not as lean as Jared, his muscles thicker and body stronger. Naked, he looks absolutely breathtaking and Jared wants to stare at him for days, touch him everywhere and get to know every inch of his body. Briefly, he lets his eyes rest on Jensen's cock, thick and heavy, and his cheeks blush hotly.

"You get in first," he finally says, waving his hand at the water. "I...I want to sit between your legs. If you're okay with that?" 

"I certainly am," Jensen replies. He passes by Jared, halting to kiss him softly, his hand sliding down Jared's back and grazing over his still-clothed ass. "You need to get naked for that, though."

"Right," Jared mumbles, and hastily strips off the rest of his clothes as Jensen gets into the water. 

He tries to ignore the fact that Jensen is watching his every move and carefully gets into the tub with him. It's not exactly big enough for both of them, but the water is hot and Jared bends his legs and curls up as best as he can between Jensen's legs. He can feel Jensen against him, his skin smooth and warm even in the heat of the water, and his cock is soft, but unmistakable. Jensen hums and cups water in his hand, letting it run down from Jared's collarbone and shoulders. 

"It's not too uncomfortable for you, is it?" Jared asks, worried, and Jensen wraps his arms around him, pulling Jared back.

"It's perfect," he murmurs and kisses Jared behind his ear, then trails his lips down Jared's throat. It's enough to get Jared's cock to grow hard, heat pooling in his stomach.

Jensen retrieves the soap after a couple of minutes and starts washing Jared – his arms, his chest, his back, even his hair – his touch gentle and sweet. "Good?" he asks softly, and Jared is a little embarrassed about the soft moan that escapes him in lieu of an answer. Jensen chuckles and keeps washing him.

Jared does his best to return the favor afterward, but the angle is all wrong and his touch isn't nearly as sure as Jensen's. Jensen, though, doesn't seem to mind, looking calm and relaxed, halting Jared only to kiss him softly a couple of times. 

The water is murky with soap and dirt when they get out, but their skin is pink and clean and Jared feels a million times better. He feels utterly peaceful in that moment, his muscles relaxed.

Jensen dries off and goes to his backpack, pulling out some fresh clothes. Jared bites down on his bottom lip and clears his throat, waiting until Jensen looks up at him. 

"I thought we might... you know," he says, gesturing between them, and he hopes it's enough to get his message across. He isn't exactly sure what he's doing. Jared has little experience with this type of thing; he's fooled around with a few people, but he never went far and it was never very serious. He'd never really been interested, and at court it had been hard to get to know anyone, people constantly watching his every move.

Jensen looks at him and steps closer, cupping Jared's jaw. "Are you sure?" he asks, and Jared doesn't hesitate as he nods. 

"Yes. I told you, as far as I'm concerned, I'm already your mate." 

Jensen groans softly and pulls him into a kiss. "You have no idea what it does to me when you use that word," he murmurs, and Jared ducks his head, smiles.

"Mate?" he asks, and Jensen makes a soft noise. "It's what we are, right?"

"Yeah. It is," Jensen agrees, and pushes against him, kissing him hard and deep. Their bodies are pressed together now, naked from head to toe, and Jared's heart is suddenly beating so fast, he thinks he's going to pass out. It feels amazing to be in Jensen's arms, nothing between them, and Jared's cock is filling up quickly.

Jensen walks them back to the bed, never breaking the kiss, and guides Jared down gently. Jared lets Jensen take control, blushing a little at the way Jensen spreads him out on the blankets and sits back between his legs, eyes traveling over Jared's naked body.

Jared has never consciously thought about his own attractiveness. He's had people comment on it, especially once he got out of his teenage years, and he's always taken it for granted. Now, having Jensen there with him, he feels a little nervous, hoping desperately that Jensen likes what he sees.

Jensen smiles at him, all soft and private, and runs his hands up Jared's legs, resting them on his sides. He leans down and kisses Jared once before nuzzling his nose against Jared's cheek, then down his throat. "You're so beautiful," he murmurs, and Jared tilts his head back, baring his throat. 

"Like you're one to talk," he replies and moans softly when Jensen kisses his neck, working a steady path downward. His hands start moving up, running over Jared's skin, and Jared brings his own hands up, touching Jensen back in return. 

When Jensen lowers his body, lying down between Jared's spread legs, and their cocks finally brush together, Jared gasps and bucks up. "Shh, slow. I got you," Jensen murmurs, and rocks down against him, setting a slow rhythm as he pulls Jared into a kiss.

Jared is sure he is going to come from just this, their bodies rocking and grinding together, Jensen's skin inhumanly warm and smooth against his, but Jensen pulls back just as Jared gets close to the edge. 

"Stay here," Jensen murmurs, and if Jared wasn't so hopelessly turned on, he would make some comment about how there's nowhere else for him to go in their small room. Instead he tries to steal another kiss, chasing Jensen's lips as Jensen gets off the bed. He retrieves a small pot of salve from his things and sets it down on the pillow next to Jared.

"We'll need that," he says with a grin, and Jared flushes. 

He's not sure what he's expecting, but Jensen draws the whole thing out a lot longer than Jared thought he would, making him feel almost impatient except everything Jensen does makes him feel amazing. 

Jensen kisses and licks his way down Jared's body, stopping to tease his nipples until Jared is moaning loudly, his cock leaking pre-come.

"So sensitive," Jensen whispers, the sound almost awed, and kisses Jared's sternum, down to his navel, his belly. It's when he kisses the tip of Jared's cock that Jared nearly bucks off the bed. Jensen chuckles against his skin and then wraps one hand around Jared's dick and takes him in his mouth.

"Oh, holy shit," Jared gasps. "Jensen."

Jensen makes a soft, humming noise, which vibrates around Jared's cock, and Jared knows he'd be coming if Jensen's fingers didn't squeeze around the base of his dick just then, like he knows exactly how Jared is feeling, what he's doing to him.

Jensen only stops to get the salve and slick up three of his fingers, Jared watching him with his heart thudding quickly in his chest. Then he takes Jared's cock into his mouth again, moving up and down, as his fingers reach between Jared's legs. It feels a bit weird at first, when he presses a finger inside, but his mouth is enough to distract Jared and it's not exactly a bad feeling anyway. It's foreign and a little overwhelming, knowing what Jensen is doing and feeling him inside, but Jared is too far gone to care.

The third finger burns a little, and Jensen pulls off, kissing his hip softly. "Shh, relax. I'm not going to hurt you, I swear," he murmurs, and Jared tries to breathe, feeling Jensen move his fingers.

"Jensen," he groans when Jensen touches a place inside of him that makes pleasure shoot up his spine, quick and hot. Jensen kisses the inside of his thigh and rubs his fingers over the spot again. Jared's hips start moving on their own, rocking down on Jensen's fingers, trying to chase the feeling.

Jensen keeps moving his fingers inside of him and it feels absolutely amazing now. Jared whines when he pulls out, the sound passing his lips before he can bite it back, and Jensen kneels between his legs, smiling.

"Give me a moment, precious," he murmurs and kisses Jared, sweet and soft, and Jared lifts his head, wanting more, wanting Jensen. 

Jensen slicks his cock up with the salve and then he lifts Jared's legs over his arms, shifting them around. Jared bites his lip when he feels the head of Jensen's dick against his entrance, insistent pressure as Jensen pushes against him a little.

"Relax. It'll feel good," Jensen murmurs, and leans down, folding Jared almost in half, and kisses him. His tongue slides against Jared's, hot and wet, as he starts pressing in. His cock is thicker than his fingers, and it doesn't exactly hurt, but it burns and Jared feels weirdly full as Jensen slides in deeper, fills him up and stretches him wide. He makes a noise into Jensen's mouth, bites at his bottom lip, and Jensen pulls back a little.

"Okay?" he asks softly, and Jared just moves his head in a gesture that he hopes resembles a nod, pulling him back down for another kiss. One of his legs sliding down and around Jensen, tightening around his back, and Jensen pushes in deeper, all the way, leaving Jared breathless.

"Jensen," he whimpers and brings his hands up to Jensen's shoulders, digging into the warm muscles there. He rocks his hips up, hoping it's enough to get his point across, and Jensen pulls back a little before pushing back in, the drag of his cock inside of Jared the most fantastic thing Jared has ever felt.

Jensen fucks him slow and deep at first, his movements so controlled, and Jared urges him on, all inhibitions and worries from earlier forgotten. "So good," Jensen murmurs into his skin, kissing his cheek, his neck, his throat. 

Each thrust is a little harder now, a little faster, and it feels like he's so deep inside of Jared that he's filling up every cell of his body. 

"Jensen," Jared moans, pushing his hips up to meet Jensen's movement. He wants more, wants it all, and he never wants it to stop. It's the most intense feeling of his life, and it doesn't take long before he feels heat pool in his belly, his balls tightening, and when Jensen pushes back into him, so deep and hard and perfect, Jared comes between their bellies.

Jensen groans and keeps fucking him, grinding his dick into Jared's hole, Jared's body tingling with pleasure all over, and Jensen mouths at his throat.

"Love you," he says and Jared hears it loud and clear, and then he feels the sharp, sudden sting of teeth where his neck meets his shoulder. It hurts only for a split second, and then Jared feels heat and pleasure shooting through him again and Jensen's lips cover his in a bruising kiss.

+

Jensen cleans them both with a wet cloth, and Jared watches him drowsily, spent and blissed out. He shifts closer when Jensen crawls back into bed with him and pulls the blanket over them.

"Hmm, good," Jared mumbles and Jensen laughs softly, kissing Jared's brow.

"Get some sleep, love," he says, and Jared moves his head, lips brushing against Jensen's collarbone.

"You too," he says around a yawn. "Mate."

+

Jensen is still fast asleep when Jared wakes up the next morning, breathing deeply and regularly.

Jared rests his cheek on the pillow, facing Jensen, and he watches him for a while. It's raining outside, big splashes of water against the window, the sky dark. The room, too, is gloomy and cold, but Jared can't remember the last time he felt this good. He remembers his mother telling him about her wedding to his father, from the dress and jewels she wore, to the flowers and the feast they had, and how happy she had been that day. He wonders if she felt like this: so complete, truly at peace. 

He leans in and kisses Jensen softly, and Jensen's eyes flutter open.

"Hmm. Jared," he mumbles and angles his face up, lips pursed a little. Jared kisses him again, smiling against his lips. They kiss lazily for a while, hands running over skin under the cover of the blanket, and Jared feels happy and drowsy. 

After a while Jensen rolls Jared onto his back and straddles him, smiling down. His eyes look lighter this morning, sparkling with a happiness Jared hasn't seen in him since they met again weeks ago. Jensen dips down, kisses him softly, then moves to his jaw, down his neck, kissing and nipping. "What do you want?" 

"You," Jared says, without hesitation. 

Jensen lifts his head. "How?" he asks, mirth in his eyes, and Jared flushes.

"Like last night. Inside of me," he says, trying to sound sure and confident. 

Jensen smiles. "Anything you wish for, my Lord," he murmurs.

+

Lying in bed with Jensen afterward, bodies sweaty and sated, Jared realizes that he's definitely not ready to go home just yet. A few days ago, he wanted nothing more than to get away, but now he longs to drag their journey out a little longer.

He has the gem – the forest and the only real danger they were ever in is behind them – and he has Jensen. In his bed, in his life, for good. He broaches the topic to Jensen carefully, suggesting they don't leave right away, but Jensen doesn't need much convincing. Jared talks to Genevieve, and more reluctantly Jeff and Danneel, once they make it downstairs for a very late breakfast.

They stay in the village for two days, mingling a little with the townsfolk and the few stray travelers that are staying at the inn as well. Jared and Jensen spend a lot of time in their room, in their bed, and Jared blushes every time Genevieve makes a lewd comment about it.

Staying in one place for a while, with nothing to do, also gives Jared time to think. About the things he's seen and learned, since leaving the city, about his father, and Jensen, but also about Jeff. 

The night before they leave, there's a fire roaring in the fireplace in the common room downstairs, and Jared coaxes Jensen into staying there for a while. The inn keeper, a man named Misha, plays a card game with him and Genevieve, while Jensen watches them from a few tables over, drinking an ale.

"Your guard?" Misha asks, sending an amused look at Jensen, and Jared snorts. 

"Something like that," he says, and Misha nods, smiling.

"I see," he says. He lays down his last cards, smile growing into a smirk. "I hope he won't hate me for taking your money then."

Jared pushes his coins toward Misha and shakes his head. "Nah, he's not as scary as he looks," he says, and then gets up from the table. "You guys keep playing. Give him hell from me, Gen."

Genevieve salutes him, and Jared goes to join Jensen at his table. He steals Jensen's ale and takes a big swig from it, before he glances across the room where Jeff is sitting at a table on his own. "Remember that trust thing?" he asks, and Jensen furrows his brow.

"Yes," he says. "Why?"

"Because I love you and I want you to trust me," Jared says and sighs when Jensen raises an eyebrow at him. "I'm going to go over there and talk to Jeff."

"Why?" Jensen asks, tone clipped, but Jared isn't surprised. He really hadn't expected him to be happy about this.

"Because there are some things I need to know," Jared explains. 

Jensen looks at him for a few moments, then sighs. "I understand that," he says. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No," Jared says firmly. "I think it's best if you stay here. I know you want to help, but things with you and Jeff are so tense right now and I don't want to fight with him. I just want to talk."

"Okay," Jensen agrees, and gives him a soft smile. "You're a good person, Jared. Better than me."

"Nah, just less grumpy," Jared teases and gets up. He goes to order two ales at the bar and then takes them over to the table where Jeff is sitting. Jeff watches him approach, surprise and weariness all over his face, and Jared sits down with him.

"I want to talk," he says, sliding one of the ales over to Jeff.

"Okay," Jeff says, nodding.

"Why Jensen?" Jared asks, and Jeff raises his eyebrows.

"I told you."

"I don't think you did. Stealing the gem, having someone hide it on the Red Mountain, that's a lot to risk. You could have been found out or something could have happened to me, to us. And you're telling me you did all of this just because you were hoping Jensen and I would reconnect, and I would, what, make my father see the wrong of his ways?" 

"Jensen told you about the promise he made your mother." 

"Yes. But Jensen is not going to be able to change my father's mind. Hell, even I might not. I certainly wouldn't be able to do that on the grounds of Jensen and I becoming friends again. You think my father would revoke a law he made, a law he feels so strongly about, because his son is friends with a dragon?" Jared asks, shaking his head. "It would never have worked and, from what I understand, you never suspected Jensen and I could turn out to be more than friends."

"No," Jeff says with a sigh, and Jared frowns. 

"Tell me." 

"Do you believe in, well, I suppose the best word for it is soulmates?" Jeff asks, taking a swig of his ale. 

Jared snorts. "No. And if you're telling me that Jensen and I are soulmates, save it. That's bullshit." 

"Your mother believed in it. Not necessarily in a romantic way, but she thought that sometimes there are people who share a bond so strong, so deep, that they are destined to be part of each other's lives," Jeff says. "We talked a lot, you know. I was one of her guards, but I've known your family all my life and she saw a friend in me, I suppose. She shared a lot with me. And I remember, one day you were playing with Jensen in the castle, and your mother was watching over you two. It must have been a year or two before she passed away. She turned to me, and said, 'those two souls belong together. Mark my words, Jeffrey,'" Jeff says and gives Jared a small smile. "I didn't think much of it at the time, but it always stayed with me. And you... after the Ackles left the city, you would sit in the room of the highest tower, looking out the window. You were looking for Jensen in the sky, you'd say." 

"I remember that," Jared says softly. "He was my best friend." 

"Yes. But friendships fade, especially when people don't see each other. Yet, when I first saw Jensen again, a few years after his family left, he immediately asked about you and he did so every time we saw each other. He hadn't seen you in years, but you were still at the forefront of his mind." 

"That's still not a lot to go on." 

"No. It isn't. But I knew there was a connection between you two and I was hoping it would be enough. That your friendship with Jensen would be enough to make you stand up to your father, to fight him on this." 

Jared turns his mug in a small circle, watching the wet ring it leaves on the table. "You risked a lot just for hope." 

"There's a lot at stake here, Jared. I did it because I believe in you," Jeff says, "You will be a good king. A fair king. And you will return this kingdom to how it used to be. But in order for that to happen, I had to make sure the kingdom wouldn't fall apart before your time. The changes I talked about, they're worse than I let on, and things are happening quickly. There's not a lot of time, so I did what I thought – hoped – might help." 

"You could have done it differently. Confided in me, at least," Jared says softly, and that's something that makes his chest hurt. Jeff has been one of the few people he's always trusted, who has been there for him his entire life. It hurts to know Jeff doesn't trust him.

Jeff sighs. "Just because I believe in you does not mean I don't see your flaws. You're loyal, Jared, and I fear you would have been loyal to your father. Family is too important to you," he says, and Jared looks down at the table, unable to deny that. 

"Okay." 

"Okay?" 

"I understand why you did what you did. I might not condone it, but I understand it. And I forgive you," Jared says, and meets Jeff's eyes across the table.

"Thank you, my Lord." 

Jared nods, and then gives Jeff a hard look. "I have my doubts about Jensen, though." 

"I suppose that's my punishment then. Losing a good friend." 

"Was it worth it?" 

Jeff gives him a sad smile. "Hopefully."

+

Jensen is clearly miffed when Jared tells him he forgave Jeff, his jaw set as Jared tells him what they talked about. When Jared declares he's going to bed not soon after, Jensen nods but doesn't follow.

Jared wakes up what must be at least two hours later, when Jensen slips into bed behind him, pressing close. The room is pitch black, and Jared sighs sleepily. "'s late." 

Jensen grunts, kissing his neck, up to his jaw, his stubble scraping against Jared's skin. Jared smells the alcohol on his breath, even from this angle, and he rolls onto his back. 

"Are you still mad at me?" he asks softly, reaching out blindly, his fingers brushing against Jensen's jaw.

Jensen is silent for a moment, but he turns his head and kisses Jared's fingers. "He put you in danger," he says softly.

"All of us. Himself included." 

"Well, I only care about you." 

"Jensen," Jared starts, but then drops it because he knows this is one argument he isn't going to win. "Fine, he put me in danger and I get why that upsets you. But his intentions were good." 

Jensen huffs. 

Jared fumbles in the darkness until his hand finds Jensen's neck, fingers gliding over soft, warm skin. "What do you think would happen to me if the kingdom fell apart? To everyone? He's trying to prevent that, to make sure there's a future where I can be king, where things can be stable and the mistakes of the past can be fixed." 

"He lied to us all, tricked us. He's sworn loyalty to your father, to you, and he betrayed that oath," Jensen says firmly. 

"He was looking out for everyone, even me, Jensen." 

"I _know_ , but it doesn't change what he did. You can't ask me to forgive him for that," Jensen replies and he sounds pleading. 

"I'm not," Jared says softly. "I'm just asking you to accept that I did." 

"I could do that," Jensen grumbles, and Jared pulls him in and kisses him softly. 

"Good," he mumbles. "That's all I'm asking."

+

They leave the next day, things still tense but better than before. Everyone, even Jensen, tries to keep things light, and if Jensen doesn't talk to Jeff and Danneel, he's at least stopped snarling and glaring at them.

They reach the city within a couple of weeks. Jared can see it from miles away, the castle that looms over the city, the houses sprawled out at its' feet, so familiar and yet strange after so much time spent away. Jared knows almost every nook and cranny, has walked every street, wide and narrow. After weeks away, seeing the city again is almost overwhelming, relief and joy, mingling with the fear and worry of what might happen. He's pictured the conversation with his father countless times by now, has thought about what he'll say, how he'll act. 

Jensen slides his hand into Jared's, and when Jared turns to look at him his eyes are bright green and damp. It's been weeks for him, but it's been years for Jensen, and Jared feels a surge of pain for him, for how long he's been kept away from the city that was his home growing up and how hard it must have been. 

"We're home," Jared murmurs, and Jensen squeezes his hand. 

"Yeah. Finally." 

"You ready?" Jared murmurs, squeezing Jensen's hand back.

"Are you?" Jensen counters and Jared smiles and leans down to kiss him softly. 

"Yes. For anything," he says. "As long as I'm with my mate."

Jensen laughs softly, sliding his free hand behind Jared's neck, holding him in place as he kisses him gently. "Try getting rid of me now, Padalecki. Not gonna happen," he says and grins. "I'm the prince's consort after all."

+

Epilogue

Jared gets up silently and pads over to the window. He opens it, letting the noise filter in and smiles, looking out into the courtyard bustling with people. Beyond the castle's walls, he sees the roofs of houses in the distances, spreading up to the city wall. There's smoke rising from some of the chimneys already, the warm weather of late summer giving away to fall. 

Jared closes his eyes for a moment, breathes in the clean, crisp air, and smiles when he opens them again. He looks out, listening to the distant prattling of voices, the dull, barely audible sound of hooves and cart wheels on the cobbled ground. Off in the distance, a dark shape is visible on the horizon, gliding steadily through the air before flying in a big loop. 

It's starting to become more and more of a familiar sight these days. 

"What are you looking at?" Jensen says, suddenly behind him. He wraps his arms around Jared, engulfing him in the deep red cover from their bed, and Jared leans back with a happy sigh. It reminds Jared of being wrapped up under Jensen's wings, safe and warm. 

"Nothing. Just watching," Jared replies. 

Jensen kisses his shoulder, naked bodies pressed together under the protection of their blanket, and rests his forehead against Jared's neck. "You have a meeting with your advisors this morning," he mumbles. "We should get ready soon. I'm sure your bath is already drawn." 

"Just a few more moments," Jared says with a smile, and Jensen hums and tightens his arms around him. Jared feels the hard press of Jensen's wedding ring against his stomach, the gold warm from Jensen's skin. 

"Whatever you wish, my King. Just don't blame me if you're late for your meeting," Jensen murmurs, kissing the side of Jared's neck. Jared smiles. 

"Not just me. It's _your_ meeting too, my King." 

"I'm just the king's consort," Jensen replies, and Jared turns in his arms, grinning. 

"Officially maybe," he says, and kisses Jensen. "But a dragon and his mate are always equal, even if one of them is a king and the other one is a stubborn, possessive grouch."

Jensen grins and presses his lips against Jared's before leaning down, resting his cheek against Jared's shoulder. "Sounds like a good match."

"A perfect one," Jared agrees and wraps his arms around Jensen, closing his eyes for a few moments. In a short while, their day will begin. Routines and meetings and the whole day planned out for them, but none of that seems as confining to Jared as it used to, knowing that once their official jobs are done for the day, it'll be just him and Jensen.

****

the end


End file.
